Born to Die
by DanniMitchell85
Summary: When the daughter of Quinn, the Nomad Pres, comes to tell SAMCRO her father was been killed, she isn't ready for the aftermath of what is to come. Action, Drama, Romance! PRE-S3! UPDATED! Chapter 28 now up!
1. Chapter 1

** Authors Notes: **Okay so this chapter has been revised once again! 1-13-11. A big hug goes out to 'Kaylalong' for helping me out, and making sure that this story turns out to be the best that it can be.

I hope that you all enjoy the story, and please let me know what you think about it. You can find pictures of some of the new characters on my profile page.

**Disclaimer:** I do NOT own SOA or any of the wonderful characters from the show; they all belong to Kurt Sutter. I do however own Addison Barkley.

**About the story line:** This is going to take place before the events of Season 3, and before Able was kidnapped. Kip, Half-Sack, is still alive, and only has a month left to go before he is a full patched in member of SAMCRO.

Used'.org/wiki/Sons_of_Anarchy_Motorcycle_Club' for information and facts.

** Born to Die**

** Chapter ONE**

** Rating:** R

** Genre:** Family, Drama, Romance, and Hurt/Comfort.

Devastated, yet determined, Addison fought to keep her eyes on the road and her small hands gripped on the handles of her father's bike. Having a hard enough time handling the beast of a machine, she tried to contain her emotions. She didn't what to start crying and make it worse than it already was, driving down the long dark road.

The sixty-one hours of riding from Fairbanks, Alaska to Charming, California had been a nightmare, one she was hoping she didn't have to repeat anytime soon. However bad the ride was, with the mix of weather and distance, it had given her the time she needed to think over the events of the week prior.

She knew that this day would come, but always prayed that it wouldn't. Her father, Quinn Barkley, had told her that something like this was possible and had given her very strict instructions, in the event something ever happened to him.

His death had set everything in motion, and forced her to recall what her father had instructed her.

'_If anything happens to me, you go to California. There is a small town called Charming, you go there and you find Clay Morrow, he is the National President of the MC. He is the only one you trust. Don't talk to anyone else until you find to him.' _

She had only been ten when he had told her that. Over the years, she learned that Clay was her uncle, the older brother to Lily, her late mother. She had met him for the first time when she was sixteen; it had been her first time to meet another member of the MC. They visited Clay and met his wife, Gemma. It had been one of the best weekends of her life. She and Gemma had gone out shopping, and her father and uncle had nothing better to do other than carry their bags.

Thinking back to her father's smile, right before he would kiss her on the forehead, brought tears to her eyes. Not stopping to wipe the tears away, she tried to keep the bike straight. The combination of the tears and the darkness of the night were making it hard on her worn out body. But she wasn't about to let her dad down, not when she was this close.

His death had been sudden, but he had been open and truthful with her the whole time. He had told her that living like you had the Devil himself after you was a part of the lifestyle, something he enjoyed.

Knowing who her father was, and what he did, Addison knew that there were going to be people out for his blood. Being the President of the Nomads for the Son's Of Anarchy was a dangerous job, and not just anyone could fill that role.

Causing pain, intimidating, and 'dealing' with people, was what her father did, and he did it well. But when he came home, he was the caring father that any girl would have loved to have.

Her thoughts came to a stop when she saw the 'Welcome to Charming' sign and she knew that she was near the end of her long trip. She also knew that everything was about to get much more heated, and she was going to have to deal with a group of very angry men.

She was going to have to tell Clay, that her father, his brother-in-law, was killed just to send a message. He had been strung up, gutted and butchered, to tell all of SAMCRO that there was no place that they could hide, no place was safe.

Her whole life, they had lived on the road. As the leader of the Nomads, her father had told her that it was important to keep on the road, always moving and never stay in one place too long. Whenever something was about to go down, and he was needed to help out his brothers, she would always be sent up to Fairbanks, to their small run down house. It wasn't much, but it was the only place where she felt remotely safe.

The house had been his father's, and had been in the family for a while. It was out of the way, and hard to find, for someone who wasn't used to driving in the snow and ice. The mixture of tall trees and winter weather was the perfect cover for their safe haven.

But someone had found their refuge.

It was no longer a shelter from all the evil in the world, not anymore. The real fact that it would never be the same was terrifying to her; she knew that she would never feel safe there, ever again, not until the threat was dealt with.

Addison wasn't stupid, she was twenty and knew what would happen once she got to SAMCRO. They would put out a club wide lockdown, and when they thought that everyone was locked away and safe, they would go out for blood, and wouldn't stop till they got pay back. Her father had been called away to help out on many man hunts before. She knew the protocol of the club better than most members.

Seeing the sun worn and weathered sign for the 'Teller-Morrow' auto shop, she couldn't stop the ache in her chest. The mixture of fear and relief was overwhelming and she wasn't sure what the next hour would bring, but she knew for the moment, she was with family. And that thought caused the flood gate to weaken and the tears to fall.

Pulling in, she didn't even try to park the bike along the row of others; she just killed the engine and got the kick stand down.

S.o.A.

He watched as the Harley pulled into the shop yard, he could tell that the rider was having a hard time handling it. He was far too small to be on a bike that size. Taking another drag from his cigarette, Happy looked the bike over. It was a nice ride, and looked familiar to him.

Getting up from the picnic table, he threw the rest of his cigarette on the ground and stepped it out. Readjusting his pants to make sure they wouldn't fall off, he started to walk over to the newcomer to see if he was lost. It was clear the Harley didn't need any work done. It sounded to be in pretty good shape, but it was late, and with all the shit that had gone down in the last few days, he wasn't about to let a Trojan horse into the MC.

"You lost or som'thing?" He called out as he got closer. He had his right hand behind his back, resting on his ever-ready Glock. He may have been outside to relax while all his brothers where inside getting hammered, but he prided himself on always being ready.

Hearing the gruff voice, Addison looked up and saw a man approaching her. She couldn't see much, but could tell from his body language that he was reading her just as she was him. It was clear that he couldn't see much of her. She still had the helmet on, and was wearing a large black snow coat. She hadn't bothered to take it off.

He walked closer. "You deaf or som'thing?" He asked, hostility in his voice.

As he got closer, Addison could see his cut clearly, see his Nomad patch. Without even thinking, she launched herself onto the strange man, hugging and holding onto him tightly.

Taken back by the sudden movement and the fact that there was something clinging to him, Happy looked down to try and figure out what was going on.

He was being hugged. By what looked like a young, blonde girl?

Putting his hands roughly on the shoulders of his attacker, he kept a strong hold and pushed her to an arm's length away. Looking down to get a better look, he was surprised at what he saw.

Sad, black rimed, blue eyes stared back at him.

"I'm sorry," Addison said through her tears. "I didn't mean to offend you, it's just your cut. You're a Nomad and…" She wasn't able to finish her sentence as the clubhouse doors opened, and she heard the sounds of loud footsteps stomping out.

Happy looked over to see Tig, Clay, and Jax walking over to them. They must have seen what was going on, inside on the screens. The club had cameras all over the shop yard.

"Everything okay out here?" Clay asked as he looked over at Happy.

Hearing that voice, Addison wasn't able to hold back anymore. She ran up to him and hugged him. "Uncle Clay." She whispered in a soft voice. The smell of smoke and beer, the warmth and strength came off him in waves. It was all too much for her.

It took a moment for Clay to realize what was going on. Looking down at the helmet covered head, he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Addi?" He asked in a disbelieving voice, and pulled her back to get a better look. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"It's dad. He's, he's…" She couldn't bring herself to say it, say _that_.

Pulling her back into his arms, he looked around the yard and saw the lone parked bike, Quinn's bike. "Shit." He said, realizing that something had happened to his childhood best friend and brother.

Looking over to Tig and Happy, he saw the look in their eyes, and then he looked over to Jax. "Call your mother, tell her Addison's here."

With only a nod, Jax pulled out his phone and walked off.

"Hap, pull the bike around and get it parked. Then go follow Gemma here." Clay said, as he held onto Addison. "Tig, clear everyone who ain't a Son out, and sober up our brothers."

As soon as Happy and Tig walked off, he looked back down to the young woman in his arms. No one had to tell him that she was a mess. It was clearly written on her face. He unbuckled the latch of the helmet from under her chin, and pulled off the black safety gear. "Let's get you inside, and then you can tell me what's going on." He told her as he led her into the clubhouse. He didn't stop to answer any questions regarding why he was cutting everyone off, or who was the young woman with him. He walked down the hall and led her into the only room that he knew would be clean.

"This is Sack's room. He's too busy to use it much." He said with a small chuckle. They had so much for the prospect to do, that he really didn't have a lot of time to rest.

He watched her sit on the bed and lay down; she was asleep before her head hit the pillow.


	2. Chapter 2

** !NOTICE! Revised 1-14-11**

** Authors Notes: **Wow, I didn't think that this would get as much as a response and it has, and I'm glad that you all have enjoyed the 1st chapter, and I can only hope that you all continue to enjoy the rest of the story. I am sorry for any small spelling and grammar; I do not have a beta for this story, yet. (If you would like to beta please drop me a PM!)

As I said in the last chapter, I'm not sure when I'll be able to update, but this (and the next chapter) where fresh in my mind and wanted to get it out. It's also a thank you to all those who have reviewed and added this story to you alert list.

** Thank you to:** ozlady80,They Say Its Crazy, PixieSam, ThisLife103.7,HapsOldLady, Merciless Princess, Mrs Bass-Molfoy, weapon2020, bobgorgefred, Harveygirl9, Jazpup, SKYE-07, VersaEmerge, chrisd1016929, go4itgirl, suziraye, and brookeburke. This chapter is for all you guys!

** Born to Die**

** Chapter Two**

** Rating:** R

_ She couldn't stop the screams. No matter how hard she tried to block it out and cover her ears, she could still hear her father, and the pain that he must be in. Even when they were cutting into him and burning him, he never asked them to stop. He kept taunting them, telling them he could do better, and telling them he had done worse. _

Waking up in a cold sweat, Addison nearly fell off the bed as she looked around the room for any threat. Taking a few calming deep breaths, she had to tell herself that she was safe for the moment.

Wiping her eyes, she pulled her hand away to see a dark smudge of makeup. It had been a few days, and she hadn't stopped once to rest, so she knew that she looked like hell warmed over. Seeing a door that could only lead to a bathroom, she stood on wobbly legs, and did her best to make it to the room without falling over.

Leaning heavily on the white porcelain sink, she looked into the mirror to see a ghost looking back. Her skin was pale and ashen from the long ride, and the lack of food or rest. Her eyes lost the bright blue shine that her father loved so much and were just a pale gray, clouded with fear and sadness.

Turning on the tap she waited for the water to warm as she took the large snow coat off. Seeing a bottle of hand soap, she pumped some of the citrus smelling gel into her hand and lathered it up. She didn't have a lot to work with, but she did want to try and pull herself together. She was going to have to tell Clay what happened, and she was sure that she would be meeting some, if not all, of the SAMCRO members.

Scrubbing her face, she hoped that she could wash away all the fear and nightmares, but she knew that it was going to take more than some hand sanitizing soap to do that. Pulling the closest towel off the rack, she dried her face and was glad to see that all the dark makeup was gone. She didn't think that she would scare anyone now.

She turned her head around and watched as Gemma walked in. It only took one look from the older woman, and Addison knew that she was going to have to be strong. She had always admired Gemma for her strength, no matter what was going on in the club or at home, she made sure that everyone stayed together.

"Oh sweetheart, come here." Gemma said as she put down a pile of something and held her hands out for a hug. Addison didn't have to be told twice.

She was trying to keep it together. She didn't need to seem like a little lost girl, but the loving and warm embrace was working on her reserves.

Gemma held her, lightly stroked her hair, to try to calm her down. She could hear that she wasn't breathing properly, and was more than likely going into shock, now that she had time to process what was going on. Pulling her back slightly, she looked into Addison's sad eyes, and couldn't help but notice how much she had grown. She wasn't the young sixteen year that she had gone shopping with. She was a twenty year old woman who was born into the Son's of Anarchy, and she was dealing with a great loss.

"You're so beautiful, baby girl. You look just like your mother." Gemma couldn't help but say. "Now, why don't you take a shower, and I'll go find you something to eat." She pulled away and turned to the pile that she had placed onto the bed. "I brought some shampoo and conditioner for you, and some clean clothes. Jax said that it didn't look like you had anything with you. We'll figure out something more for you later."

Addison just nodded. She knew that she would have to talk to Clay soon, and she was glad that Gemma was letting her shower and get cleaned up more before she had to face the harsh reality.

As soon as Addison shut the bathroom door, Gemma turned to leave the room. She needed to find Clay and find out what the hell was going on. Walking into the main room, she could see all the men sitting around, waiting. Spotting her husband and her son talking in a corner, she made her way over.

"So," She said crossing her arms over her chest. "You going to tell me what the hell is going on?"

Getting up and looking at her with nothing but love in his eyes, Clay told her what he knew. "We can't get a hold of Quinn." He said nodding his head over to where Happy was on his phone. "He's been calling all the other Nomads and none of them have been able to get a hold of him, or have talked to him in the last three days."

"Shit," She breathed out, and ran a hand through her hair.

"She rode in on his bike, could barely handle it from what Hap said." Jax added. He had never met Addison, but had heard about her from his mother. She was family, and he protected his family. That's all he needed to know.

"Well I gave her the stuff you told me to bring, and she's in there taking a shower right now. I'm gonna see if there is anything to eat. It doesn't look like she has eaten in a few days." Gemma said more to herself then to the two men in front of her.

S.o.A

Hap was starting to get pissed. He had been trying to get a hold of anyone who may have some information on what the hell was going on. Once he had parked the bike, it didn't take long to recall that the bike was that of Quinn Barkley, the only man that he was afraid of, and a man who he highly respected.

Quinn had been the one who had looked out for him while he was new to the club. He had been there for his first kill, and helped him bury the body. The man taught him almost everything he knew. He had helped him become the man he was. However, there was a side of him that Happy had seen that most others hadn't. He had watched him do things to others that he could never bring himself to do to, no matter how bad the blood was.

He had been the first 'Enforcer' for the club and wrote the book on how to bring pain to the enemy. The very real fact that something could have happened to him was something that made Hap rethink everything that was going on around the club. Everything in him was telling him that something big was going on, and he would be damned if he fell victim, or let anymore of his brothers fall.

** Authors Notes:** Okay I know that this is a shorter chapter then what I normally write, but I felt like this was the best place to stop. Again, love to hear what you all think, and I will be working on the next chapter really soon! Thank you again for everyone who is reading!


	3. Chapter 3

** !NOTICE! Revised 1-18-11**

**Authors Notes: **Again, I can't tell you all how happy I am to know that you all are enjoying the story. I loved thinking this one up and I am on a roll so it may get done a lot faster than I thought it would. I have added a picture to my profile page of who I think would have made a great Quinn, if I hadn't killed him off that is, and a few other new characters that are going to be showing up over the next few chapters.

** Thank you to:** ozlady80,They Say Its Crazy, PixieSam, ThisLife103.7,HapsOldLady, Merciless Princess, Mrs Bass-Molfoy, weapon2020, bobgorgefred, Harveygirl9, Jazpup, SKYE-07, VersaEmerge, chrisd1016929, go4itgirl, suziraye, brookeburke, suziraye, axtinag, stephanie is amazzzing, Cat Lea Takersdarkone, Kaylalong, browneyedsweetpea, angellips09, Running-Wild22, justrae9903 and CharChar93 . This chapter is for all you guys!

** Born to Die**

** Chapter THREE**

It was time.

There weren't any more roads left to travel. No more makeup smudges to be washed off. There was nothing left to keep her from telling Clay and the others what had happened. She kept her head down, eyes on her hands as she played with the hem of the shirt that Gemma had lent her.

"We were up in Fairbanks. Dad had wanted to stock up on some new guns and catch a few hours sleep before we headed out again. He somehow knew that someone was coming, and had me hide in the basement. You can't tell we have one. It's where we hide most of the guns and other things that dad wanted to keep 'safe'."

"He told me to stay hidden and not come out, no matter what." She took a deep breath to calm herself. "He gave me his keys and some cash. He told me to go out the cellar door and get his bike and roll it down to the street to get away as soon as I could. He told me to not do anything that would draw attention to myself." She felt the tears burning behind her eyes, threatening to fall, but she told herself that she wasn't going to cry, not now.

"I heard him moving around the house, trying to hide the door to the basement, I'm sure. Then he walked out of the house, walked out to meet them, didn't want to give them any reason to look around inside. I don't know how many there where, but I heard the sounds of several car doors shut, so there had to be maybe five or six."

Addison had to take a minute to collect her thoughts for what she was going to tell them next. She made the mistake of looking up to the large man shadowing her. Clay was standing next to her trying to make her feel safe, while Gemma was sitting next to her. They had thought that it would be better to talk in the bedroom rather than in the stuffy "chapel". It had been Gemma's idea, to keep her some place familiar.

Reaching up and brushing Addison's hair back and out of her face, Gemma urged her to go on.

"Sweetheart, tell us what happened." She asked in a soft voice.

Looking back down to her hands, she said, "I don't know." She hated herself for not doing something. She should have gone out there and done something to protect her father. There had been more than enough guns and other weapons in the basement to wage a small war. But she had promised her father that she wouldn't do anything but get away when the time was right.

She felt like she betrayed her father, and now he was dead. "I think I heard them come into the house. I thought I heard voices. I promised him that I wouldn't do anything, I could have done something!" She said, getting angrier with herself. "I left them to torture my dad, and I ran away!" The tears were falling now and there was nothing she could do to stop them. "I could hear him cry out, and I didn't do anything!"

Bending down next to her, Clay put a hand on her knee and another under her chin to make her look at him. "You did what he told you to do. You kept your word and that meant more to him than anything. He knew what he was walking into, and he would do it again ten times if it meant that you would be safe." Clay said to her, looking her right in the eyes.

She tried to bring herself under control, she was going to try and be strong for her father. "But I left him." She broke down again. "I just left him."

Looking over to Gemma, Clay sent her a silent message to deal with the mess of emotions. He needed to go and fill in the others. Taking a minute to stand up, he rubbed his hands.

Shutting the room door lightly, he let his anger and frustration take over and punched to door across from him, not caring that he put a nice size hole in it. The pain in his hand stung badly, but he didn't care. It felt good. It was a release. Reeling in his anger, he made his way out to the main room and ordered everyone into Church.

"Church NOW!" He called out; not bothering to look and see who was actually in the clubhouse. Walking into the dark room, he pulled out his cigar box and took one out, lighted it and took a long drag. Closing his eyes, he waited for everyone to file in and take a seat. There weren't enough chairs for everyone, so Happy and Sack took to standing in the back.

"For those of you who don't know, that was my niece who showed up here tonight, Addison. She's the daughter of Quinn Barkley." He paused, giving everyone a chance to let that sink in.

"The Nomad Pres?" Juice asked, getting a few glares.

"Yeah, dick head." Tig said rolling his eyes.

"So where's Quinn? Not like him to let her out of his sight." Piney asked. He had been one of the few who had known about Addison. He knew how protective Quinn was of his daughter.

"It's not confirmed, but I have reason to believe that he's dead." Clay said. He was never one to sugar coat bad news.

"Shit" Tig cursed, as he rubbed his hand over his face.

The rest of the guys in the room had similar responses, but Clay was looking and watching the killer in the back. He saw the pure murderous glare in Hap's eyes and knew that he would not let this go. Clay knew that he would have to keep an eye on Happy, make sure he didn't do anything without the backup of his brothers.

"Who did it?" Hap asked, his voice an eerie calm.

"Don't know. Addison was locked up in the basement, couldn't hear much. Said that she thought there could have been around six guys. She heard car doors open and close." Clay said as he took another hit of his cigar. "She waited for the right time, then left though the basement cellar door. Got Quinn's bike and rolled it down the drive. Once she got to the main street she jumped on and rode away." Clay told the men in the room. "She rode all the way from Fairbanks, Alaska, alone."

"Shit. That's a hard ride." Chibs said, as he leaned over the carved table.

"How is that even possible? She's what, like twenty?" Jax asked.

Clay replied. "Addison's a tough girl. Not your typical twenty year old. Grew up on the road with Quinn." He stopped to take a drag of his cigar. "Quinn was always prepared. Gave her instructions since she was lilttle on what do in case there was trouble."

Piney said. "I'm sure she rode all the way here, stopping only for food and gas. Probably got no more than a few hours of sleep. Poor girl."

"Brave girl," Opie said. His brothers all nodded with him.

"So we gonna go up there and find out what the hell happened?" Jax asked. "We need to see if there are any clues as to who would go after him like that." He said as he looked around the room. "We need to know if this was personal or about the MC." He said pointing to the table.

"Either way, are we going to just let the fuckers get away with this?" Bobby asked his brothers.

"Whoever did the deed, they planned it. They knew who they were going after. That gets answered for, with blood. For god sakes, Quinn was a charter President and my brother-in-law!" Clay said.

"Aye brother, eye for an eye." Chibs said.

"Do I even need to bother with taking a vote?" Clay asked.

"All in favor of finding the fuckers who took out Quinn," Tig said raising his hand, followed by everyone else in the room.

Slamming down the gavel, Clay looked over to Hap. "Call your Nomad buddies. Tell them what happened. We're leaving tomorrow night if they want any part of this."

With a nod, Hap made his way out of the room and grabbed his cell. He knew that all of them would want in on this. There was no way that they would let something like this slide.

After calling Hammer, Stone and Cooler, he hung up and made his way to the bar. He needed something to ease his tight muscles, and he rather it came in the form of burning amber. He wanted to keep all his anger for the bastard who killed a good man. He knew that once his brothers got here they would want blood, and he needed to make sure that no one else got killed.

"Um," A voice called out to him from his right. He looked over to see a small blonde, Addison. "Um, I just wanted to say sorry, about the hug attack earlier." She said looking off to the side. "I didn't mean to offend you or anything." Now she moved her eyes to look down at her hands. "It's just that after everything…I saw your cut, your _Nomad_ patch and it was the first time that I felt somewhat safe again." She said, and made to turn away, only to have Happy grab her arm. It wasn't hard or painful, but the strength was there.

"You ain't got nothin' to be sorry for." He said in a deep gravelly voice. Then let her go. He watched as she made her way back down the hall and disappeared behind a door.

Back in her room, Addison curled up on the bed and was about to let the sleep take over when she heard a knock on the door. "Come in." She called out.

Clay opened the door and walked in. "Came in to tell you that we're going to be going up to your place. Need to know what this is all about."

Getting off the bed, she stood up in front of him. "If you're going back, I'm going with you." As much as she didn't want to, she needed to go. She needed to know what happened to her father.

"Sorry kiddo. Not going to happen." Clay said with a chuckle.

"Look, there is no way that you'll be able to find the place without me. It's too far off the main roads. Please Uncle Clay, I need to know what happened to him." She pleaded in a weak voice.

"Well, if she's going, I sure as hell am going," Came a voice from the door. They both looked over to see Gemma. She had wanted to stop by and make sure Addison was settling in well enough.

"Don't even think about it." Clay said pointing his cigar at his wife.

"This isn't up for discussion, or a damn vote!" Gemma said with force. "Besides," She said crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm sure that there are some things in the house that Addison is going to need. And you'll need someone to drive the van."

"Piney can drive the van." Clay said. He knew that he was fighting a losing battle, but dammit if he wasn't going to try and talk his wife out of her crazy plan.

"Piney is going to need to stay here and run the shop." She said with a raised brow.

Taking a deep breath, Clay knew she had won. "Fine, but you listen to me. You stay in the van, and you do everything I say, that clear?"

"Crystal." Gemma said with a small smile. She then looked back over to Addison. "Honey, why don't you get some rest. We'll go shopping in the morning to get you a few necessities. Okay?"

Nodding to her aunt, Addison sat down on the bed again, and tried to process everything that had happened. She was going to be going back home, back to the place that she had once thought was safe. She knew that in the next few weeks a ton of shit was going to hit the fan, and she was going to do the best she could to make her father proud of her.

She knew her place in the club. She was the daughter of the Nomad President, and the niece to the National Club President. Her job was to do whatever the club asked of her, and make sure that they were taken care off.

Addison thought of happier times, all of them with her father, and fell into a deep sleep. She could only hope that whatever had happened to her father, that he was at least with her mother and that they were together now.

**Authors Notes:** Okay another chapter out of the way. I hope that you all enjoyed it, and please tell me what you think about it. Thank you all for reading, and thank you to all those who have taken the time to review.

LOVE YOU ALL!


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors Notes**: For those of you who have been reading, I'm glad to let you all know that I have a beta/awesome helper, 'Kaylalong'. She has been helping me go over the last 3 chapters and this new one, sorry that it took a bit longer to get it out, but I think that you all will enjoy this new installment.

A big hug goes out to everyone who has reviewed and added me to their alert lists. I know that in the last few chapters that I have been doing shout outs to all of you, but I won't be able to without taking up most of the chapter! I love to hear what you all think, and I love to know how I'm doing. Again, thank you to you all.

**Born to Die**

**Chapter FOUR**

"_You stay out of sight, no matter what you hear or see." Quinn told his daughter as he shut the hidden basement door. _

_Addison could do nothing more than nod. There were so many things she wanted to ask him, she wanted to know what was going on, but knew that there wasn't any time. _

_Stepping down the ladder a bit farther, she backed up and slid down the wood panel wall to the floor. There was nothing more she could do except wait. She could hear her father move a few things around above her. Then she heard the front door open and slam shut. It wasn't long after that she heard the sound of car doors opening and closing, and then footsteps. She couldn't tell how many people there were, but she was pretty sure she heard at least five doors open and close._

_She could hear voices, but not well enough to make out what was being said. It only took a few moments for the talking to turn into a shouting fest. Then she heard it clearly, the threat on her life. _

"_After I'm done carving you up, I'm going to find that little girl of yours and make her scream so loud that her voice goes out!" A harsh voice yelled out in anger. "I'll find her, and I'll fuck her so hard, she'll beg me to stop. And you know what? You won't be there to do a damn thing about it!"_

_Putting her hands over her mouth, Addison couldn't contain the pure and raw fear that surged through her. Never in all her years had she ever heard someone threaten _her_. Now she understood why her father never wanted her to be involved with the club. He had been trying to protect her, from this evil. That someone would try to hurt her father by using _her_, never crossed her mind. But now, here it was, staring her in the face. _

"_Fuck YOU!" Her father yelled. It sounded like he was going to say something more, but was cut off. She could only imagine what had happened to him. Had they hit him? Had they covered his mouth? Wanting to know what was going on, she looked around and saw a stream of light coming though the crack in the wood, where the top of the wall reached the ceiling of the basement. _

_Pulling a crate over and placing it under the makeshift peephole, she stepped onto the crate and looked though the hole. She saw a few pairs of legs, which looked male, up to about their knees. She couldn't see much else. She had to keep herself from screaming as she saw her father hit the grown, blood flowing freely from his nose and mouth. _

'_Why aren't you fighting back?' She wanted to scream at him. She didn't understand why he would just let those men land hit after hit. _

_She couldn't make out the face of her father's attacker, but she could tell that he was in good shape and had a large build. He bent down and lifted her father up by his shirt, forcing him to stand. Now the other men were moving around, circling him. She knew that the time for her to try and escape was fast approaching. Maybe that's why he wasn't fighting back. He wanted to give her the time to try and get away._

_Getting down off the crate, she looked around and saw a black snow coat and put it on. It would help her blend in with the dark trees, as well as keep her warm. Remembering the keys in her pocket, she pulled them out and had them ready. She was glad that her father had pulled his bike around to the back of the house; it was out of sight from the men in the front. _

_Opening the cellar door and looking around to make sure that it was clear; she crawled out and closed the door lightly behind her. _

_Seeing the bike off to her right, she walked over to it and reached down to lift the kickstand when she heard footsteps from around the back of the house. _

"_Let's find some rope or something to tie the bastard down. Don't need him getting in any lucky hits." one voice said. _

_She could hear two of them. They both stopped. She prayed that they couldn't see her kneeling down behind the bike. It was getting darker. She hoped the shadows would hide her, but could not be sure. _

"_Hey man, look that's his bike. We should burn it or something." the other voice said. _

'_NO!' Addison screamed in her head._

"_Later man, we need to deal with Quinn first. Look there's a chain." _

_Addison let out a breath as she heard them walk on a bit more. Then she could hear them picking up the heavy chain that her father used to keep the gate closed. They turned around and made their way back to the front of the house. _

_Time was running out, and she knew that her window of opportunity was closing fast. The bike was heavy and hard to push down the drive, but she kept telling herself that she had to do this. She had to get away so that her father would know she was safe. Then maybe he would be able to get himself out, and meet up with her. _

_Once she had the bike a good distance away from the house, she looked over her shoulder hoping to see her father coming towards, alive and safe, but knowing he would not._

_The sound of a single gunshot, followed by loud shouts of thrilled men met her ears. _

Shooting up out of the bed for the second time that night, Addison looked around the room. Her thoughts were put to a stop when a knock came from the door.

"Come in." she called out, noticing how weak her voice sounded. The door opened to reveal a young scrawny looking guy, maybe in his 20s, with blond hair and light colored eyes.

"Hey, sorry for waking you up, but I was hoping that I could grab a few things? I'm Sack by the way." He said as he walked in the room a bit more and extended his hand.

Shaking his hand, she told him that it was no problem. "I wasn't sleeping that well anyway." She said, looking down to her hands. "I'm sorry that I took your room."

"Na it's no problem. Been a while since I had a hot girl in my bed." he said, not really thinking. But then he saw the red flush cover her face and starting stuttering. "Oh, man, uh, that's not what I meant, I mean, wow, I'm sorry, that came out all wrong."

Addison could only nod as she tried to cool her suddenly hot face. Her father had always told her how beautiful she was, but it was different hearing it come from someone else, someone younger.

"Yeah, um, well", he said while rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm just going to grab a few things, then be on my way." He moved around the room to grab things here and there.

Seeing her pile of dirty clothing on the floor, she thought that it would be best to just get up and wash them. "Um is there a laundry room here? Or do I have to wait for a Mat to open up?" she asked.

"Um, yeah there is one down at the end of the hall. Do you want me to wash those for you?" He asked. It wasn't the first time that he had done the laundry for someone else, and it wouldn't be the last.

"No, it's okay. I'm up and need to do something." She needed something to keep her mind off of the nightmare, off of the _memories_.

"Okay, well hey if you're going to leave, do you mind if I use the shower?"

With a laugh, Addison could only nod. "It's your room." She liked this guy. He was young, cute, and easy to talk to.

"Great!" Sack said as he started to take off his shirt and pull down his pants. Addison, red faced again, turned and made her way out of the room. Taking a deep breath, she looked down the hall to see the room that Sack had told her about. Walking in, she saw four sets of washers and dryers. Glad that there were a few, she walked over and started to look in them to find an empty washer. Once she was done loading in her jeans, undergarments, and shirt, she left to see if there was something she could do to kill time.

Walking into the main room, she looked around. It was the first time that she had been in a clubhouse and she was taking it all in. There was a bar to one side, a card table and pool table to the other, with a dartboard hanging on one wall. Along one of the main walls was the 'Hall of Fame', mug shots of all the SAMCRO members, old and new.

"Thought you'd be sleeping." came a voice to her right. She looked over to see the man she had attacked earlier, sitting at the bar alone.

"Too much on my mind." she answered. He didn't need to know that she had been having nightmares. She didn't want them to worry about her. Right now, they needed to worry about going after her father's killers. Part of her was feeling guilty about not telling Clay everything, but she was having a hard time dealing with the fact that someone had threatened _her_. She had never had this happen before, and thought that it would be best to handle the fear herself. Besides, they were going to take care of them anyways. There wasn't any need to tell them what she had overheard.

Nothing more was said and he turned back around to face the bar, nursing his beer. Looking up at the clock she saw that it was not even quite eight in the morning. She was going to make a comment about drinking this early, but thought better of it. Who was she to tell him what he should or shouldn't do?

Looking around the room some more, she saw a few empty bottles here and there. Walking over she picked them all up and looked around for a trash can.

"Behind the counter." the Nomad said, never turning around. He kept his eyes on the wooded bar and his beer.

Walking around the bar, she saw the can and threw away the bottles. She looked up to see the man more clearly and read the patches on his cut. The 'Son's of Anarchy' patch was stitched on his right chest, right above the 'Unholy Ones'. She had always wanted to ask her father what it really meant, but all he would ever tell her was that only a few would ever _want_ to wear the patch. 'Nomad' was the only one adoring his left, there was no name, or rank.

"Do you have a name, or do I have to keep calling you Nomad?" She asked.

"Happy." was his short reply, followed by another dink of his beer.

"Why Happy?" she found herself asking before she could stop. She knew it wasn't any of her business, but she found it hard to believe that this 'Unholy One' would deem to call himself 'Happy'.

He said nothing and just took another sip of his beer. Knowing that he probably wasn't going to answer her, Addison looked around to see where they kept the cold beer. It was easy to see that he was drinking a stale larger, and that was something that just wasn't done.

Placing a fresh, cold beer in front of him, she took his old one away. "Thought you would like a cold one." she said and began to clean up more behind the bar. She could feel his eyes on her the whole time, but surprisingly, it didn't make her feel uncomfortable.

After a while, she heard a phone ring, and looked over to see Happy pull out his cell. He got up from the bar and walked away, leaving the beer behind. She was about to go and dump the rest of it out when he came back for it. Lifting the bottle towards her, he gave her a small nod in thanks.

She smiled back, knowing that he was listening to whoever was on the other line. Getting back to cleaning up the bar, she looked around and saw that the counter needed wiping down, and some of the tables as well. It wasn't much, but there were enough things to clean and straighten up, that she could keep her mind off the fact that she would be going back on the road again that night.

The little girl in her wanted to stay here, hide under a bed, and not come out till they told her that they had killed the bad men. The SOA blood in her, told her that she had to see this thing though to the end. She needed to know what had happened to her father, needed the men who took him away from her, to suffer. She was going to be strong. She had to be strong. There was nothing else that she _could_ be.

**Authors Notes:** That's it for this chapter, Please let me know what you think! The next chapter is in the works and should be out within the next few days.


	5. Chapter 5

** Authors Notes:** Okay I know that I said in the last chapter that I wouldn't be able to shout out to everyone, but I'm going to anyway. Oh and another big thank you to Kaylalong, for all the help and awesome advice for the story!

**Thank you:** ozlady80,They Say Its Crazy, PixieSam, ThisLife103.7,HapsOldLady, Merciless Princess, Mrs Bass-Molfoy, weapon2020, bobgorgefred, Harveygirl9, Jazpup, SKYE-07, VersaEmerge, chrisd1016929, go4itgirl, suziraye, brookeburke, axtinag, stephanie is amazzzing, Cat Lea Takersdarkone, browneyedsweetpea, angellips09, Running-Wild22, justrae9903,FunnyMick, Reality-IS-Fiction, BloodyHavoc, Sarah7174, Caliza, SindelChaos, Slash95, Storylover30, Amyvedamarie, Baby-Firecracker, burpie, Dance1999, haleycruz, Indie Brown, inkdeep, jjnate, Keptlady, ohnoitshannah, Pirateninjaassassin, TemporatyFix , CharChar93, reita189, The Black Widow, Anarchyrose, laxysmurf247, Skipperlee, and PhoenixFeatherQueens. I'm sorry if I forgot anyone.

I hope that you all enjoy the chapter and I can't wait to hear what you all think. Things are moving alone, and I hope to have the next chapter out within the next few days. ENJOY!

Born to Die

Chapter FIVE

Dumping out the dingy brown water, Addison couldn't help but feel like she had accomplished something. Once she had started to wipe down the bar and tables, she looked around and saw how dirty the place really was. With no one around to tell her to stop, that it was the Prospect's job to clean, she took it upon herself to make the place more presentable.

Once all the bottles had been cleared off and the tables wiped down, she flipped over all the chairs onto the top of the tables to get them out of her way. It took her a few minutes to locate a broom, but when she had, she also found a mop and bucket.

It didn't take her long to sweep all the dirt and loose glass up from the floor and then she starting mopping. She hadn't noticed before, with everything else on her mind, but the lemon scented cleanser was freshening up the place better then she had hoped. She had to get on her hands and knees a couple of times to scrape up the stubborn black scuff marks from all the boots that walked over the poor hardwood floor, but for the most part the cleanser did its job.

She looked up when she heard the clubhouse door open and saw Gemma walk in. "Well damn, baby girl." Gemma said as she stopped and looked around. "I thought that you would still be sleeping, not cleaning this shithole."

She walked further in and placed her purse on the now clean counter.

"I'm sorry, I just needed something to keep my mind busy." Addison said as she rinsed out the bucket and put it on the floor.

"Honey, you never have to apologize for cleaning." Gemma looked at her with a smile. It was easy to see that Addison had a lot on her mind, but Gemma was proud to see her dealing with it better than most. "Why don't you go and get cleaned up Cinderella, and then we'll go get something to eat." She dug through her bag and pulled out a cigarette. Before she knew it, there was a clean ashtray placed in front of her. Not knowing what to say, she just lit her smoke and smiled as she watched Addison disappear down the hall.

Once she got her clean clothes out of the dryer, she walked quietly down the hall and knocked on Sack's door. She wasn't sure if he was still in there, but it was the only room she knew that had a bathroom, and still had all the shower items. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and peeked inside.

What she saw made her blush for the third time that morning, but she couldn't deny how cute it was. Sack was curled up in the bed, hugging a pillow, dressed in only his boxers. It was obvious that he had taken a shower and then passed out from the long night of being ordered around. Not wanting to disturb him, she walked in slowly and crossed the room to the bathroom.

Once she was inside, she locked the door. She was pretty sure he wasn't going to wake up, but she didn't want to risk him walking in on her. It would be to embarrassing for both of them.

Once she was clean and dressed, she made to leave the room the same way she came in. Walking out into the main room, she could hear Clay and some of the others talking.

"Damn, what the hell happened in here? Did we get some cleaning fairy or shit?" Tig asked as he looked behind the bar and around the room.

"Dude, the stain on the pool table is gone too!" Juice called out, pointing to where she had scrubbed the odd yellow stain off the green felt.

She didn't say anything as she walked up to Gemma. "I'm ready to go whenever you are." She didn't want to tell the others that she had been the one who had done all the cleaning. She wasn't sure if they would be happy about it or not.

"Well boys, we are off for some girl time. Now don't go and destroy the place. I'm sure that Addison doesn't want to re-clean everything ." Gemma told them as she got off the stool and pulled her purse over her shoulder.

"Addison, you did all this?" Clay asked as he waved his hand around the room.

"I needed something to do." She said, once again looking down at her hands. She knew it was a bad habit, but she couldn't help herself.

Clay didn't say anything. He walked up and hugged her, kissing her on the top of her head. "You did a damn good job. Going to set all new standards for the Prospect." He said as everyone else laughed.

Clay watched as the two women left and walked over to take the seat that Gemma had just vacated.

"She's hiding somethin'." Hap said as he took a seat next to him.

"Yeah, I know." Clay said with a sigh. "Maybe Gemma can get it out of her." Taking out his cigar he lit it and took a good long drag from it.

Off in the corner Tig and Juice were playing a game of pool, when they heard the growl of a bike pulling into the parking lot. Looking up at the monitor behind the counter, they saw that it was one of the Nomads, pulling in as Gemma's SUV was pulling out.

"Stone's here." Hap said, getting up from his seat. He looked behind him to see his brothers following him, but held out a hand and stopped Juice from walking any further. Without a word he looked over behind his shoulder, at the empty beer bottle that he had left on the pool table. "You forgot somethin'."

"Nah man, I'm done with it." Juice said, not fully understanding what the deal was as he heard a snort from Tig.

Happy responded. "Throw it away." Juice continued to stare at him with a confused look.

"Retard." Tig huffed as he smacked Juice on the back of his head and walked ahead of his two brothers.

"But," Juice was stopped by Hap's dark glare.

"Throw it away." He said and lightly shoved Juice in the direction of the bottle.

SOA

"Looks like one of the Nomads are already here." Gemma said as she looked into the rear view mirror. It was hard to miss the large bike pull in and pass the black SUV, but it was even harder to miss the loud roar of the engine.

Addison couldn't help but worry about the kind of men she would be meeting when her eyes landed on the massive biker who looked like he could eat a child for breakfast.

"Stone." Gemma said, as she watched him roll by with a wave. "He may be big and look scary, but remember that he is on our side." She told the girl next to her as she pulled the car out of the lot and headed to the closest diner. "How much do you know about the Nomads?"

"I know what they do, what they've done. Dad would try not to tell me too much, but I knew. He would tell me stories about some of the things that went down. To tell the truth, he loved talking about his guys. I could tell that he was proud of them, what they did for the club." She said, as she looked out the window. "He never told me names, though. He said that it didn't matter who the Nomad was that pulled the trigger. When he had the cut on, he is the MC."

Gemma took her eyes off the road for a moment and looked over to the young woman beside her. It was hard to think that this little blonde haired, blue eyed girl, who couldn't be any taller than five foot three, was able to handle the fact that her father was a killer and arranged for the murders of others.

"How do you feel about that?" She asked, turning back to look at the road.

"I'm proud of my father. He stood up for what he believed in, and he did what needed to be done for the good of the club." Addison took her eyes off the passing scenery, and looked to Gemma. "It's not what my father did, or didn't do, that I'm proud of. I'm proud of why he did it."

"Spoken like a true lady of the club." Gemma said with a soft smile. She knew better than anyone what the men did and most the time it was to keep them, their family, safe. In the eyes of the MC, it wasn't the blood running in your veins that made you family, but the blood that you spilled.

Pulling into the parking lot of the diner, they got out and walked in. Gemma nodded to the cook as she walked by the kitchen and took the seat in the very back, the one right by the back door. Addison followed.

They placed their orders and talked about which stores Gemma wanted to take Addison shopping, while they waited. However the real reason that Gemma had brought her out was to tell her what had been going on around the club lately. She wasn't about to have Agent Stahl corner Addison and get her worked up. As much as she didn't want to, she told her about the rape, about the war they were in the middle of, and that it wouldn't be safe for her to go out alone.

Addison, not knowing what to say, kept quiet.

"I don't know how your father did it, but he did a hell of a job keeping you away from all this shit. I'm sorry that I had to unload on you, but I thought that it would be better if you knew the whole truth. There are too many forces at work against us right now. We can't afford to lie or hide things from one another." She said as she took a bite of her food. She had talked with Clay and they both thought that Addison was keeping something from them.

"It seems like you have a lot on your mind for someone who doesn't know what happened to her father." Gemma stated. As much as she loved this girl, she needed to know everything. The club needed to know everything.

Looking up and meeting Gemma's eyes, Addison looked down to her hands again. "I.." She stopped herself. With everything that she had just been told, she found it hard to tell the woman in front of her what she had been keeping secret.

"I'm just worried." She said. "What's going to happen to me? I can't go back home. I've never held a job before. What's going to happen to me once this is all over?" She asked. As much as she wanted to tell her about the threat on her life, she didn't want to worry Gemma.

Leaning back in the booth, Gemma let out a small laugh. "Honey, is that why you cleaned the clubhouse till it shined? You don't need to worry about anything. You're family and we look after family. Once we get things dealt with, you can help out around the shop. We can move you into Jax's old room at the house. Or we can find you a roommate and help you get your own place." She told her. "Now is that all that you have been worrying about?"

"Yeah." Addison said as she pushed some of her food around the plate. She just couldn't find it in herself to eat much.

SOA

"Stone." Happy rasped as he went to shake the larger man's hand and then pulled him into a hug.

"Wish I could say that I'm happy to see ya, brother." Stone said in a calm voice as he hugged his fellow Nomad brother. "Anything new?" He asked as he pulled away.

"Nothing you don't already know."

"That's a shame. I'm ready for some blood." He said as he turned around to see Clay and Tig. After shaking hands and exchanging brotherly hugs with both men, Stone followed them into the clubhouse. Walking in he couldn't help but notice how clean the place was. "Get a new Prospect or something?" Stone asked. He looked around to see some Mohawk wearing fool throwing away a few things.

With a laugh, Tig slapped him on the back. "Nah, sad to say that fool already served his time. He's just making sure that the place stays clean for at least a few hours." He told Stone as they watched Juice make sure there wasn't any trash lying around. All the members had gotten in the bad habit of leaving things lying around just to have something for the Prospect to do.

"Quinn's girl." Hap said, telling his large friend who was responsible for the cleanness of the clubhouse, as he walked over to the bar.

Tig walked around to the other side of the bar and pulled out a bottle of dark amber. Pouring everyone a drink, they all sat around talking about the good times, just wanting to kill time. They were all ready to pack up and leave right now, but they knew they had to wait for their other brothers. There were a lot of men who wanted in on this. Quinn had bailed all their asses out of a tough spot more than once. They all had debts to pay.

After a while, they saw a bike pull into the lot, followed closely by another. They were about to get up and go greet their brothers, when Stone and Hap stopped everyone.

"Trust me. You don't want to go out there right now." Stone said as he pointed back to the monitor.

They all looked up to see the two guys park their bikes. As soon as they had dismounted, they started throwing punches.

"What the hell is that all about?" Clay asked, looking over to see Happy and Stone trying to hide their laughter. They watched the fight on the monitor for a while longer, until Clay realized that Gemma could come back at any moment, and she would be pissed if she came back to see a fight in the lot.

Walking out of the clubhouse, Stone and Happy walked over to break up their brothers, while Clay, Tig and Juice watched.

Once they had pulled the two men off each other, Clay walked over to meet the two Nomads.

"Get off me." Hammer yelled as he tried to push Stone off him. He was the same height as the other man, but had a darker skin tone. Looking over to the man he had been pounding on, he pointed a finger. "You know I won."

With a laugh, Cooler could only shake his head. "In your dreams, we said whoever got here first. I pulled into the lot while you were still coming up the street."

"Oh please! Everyone knows that you have to park and get off your bike." He said, and then pointed to his own chest. "I parked and got off before you did."

Clearing his throat, Clay tried to gain the attention of the two bickering bikers.

"The fuck you staring at grandpa?" Hammer barked out before he took the time to look the man over.

Tig was about to move forward and teach him a lesson when Clay stopped him. All he did was lift his finger and point to his "President" patch. "I'm the mother fucker that can strip you of your damn colors if you open that big mouth of yours one more time." He said with authority in his voice.

"Hammer, this is Clay, the National President of the Son's." Stone said pointing to Clay. He then leaned over so that only Hammer could hear him. "You fuck up one more time and disrespect him and you'll have to deal with Hap and me. You got that?"

Reaching out his hand, Hammer tried to play off the threat. "Sorry about that boss." He said as he took Clay's hand, surprised at what strength was met with the hand shake.

The other man, who Hammer had been fighting with, moved forward. "I'm Cooler," He introduced himself as he shook Clay's hand. "So who got here first?" He asked, wanting to settle the argument.

Shaking his head and with a smile on his face, Clay pointed to Stone. "He did."

They stayed out in the lot, talking about random things, till some of the other members showed up. Piney and Bobby had been running around trying to get everything ready for the trip and calling up to the other charters to let them know what was going on.

It was set up for them to switch out their bikes for SUV's up in Tacoma; they would be safer in the cold weather then their much loved bikes.

Both Bobby and Piney had told them that they would be more then able to handle everything on the home front. A few of the other Nomads had agreed to come to Charming and make sure that nothing went down while the charter members where away.

Gemma had called to tell him that she and Addison would be stopping by the house to get a few things and pack up. They wouldn't be back to the clubhouse till they were about ready to leave.

Later in the evening, two more Nomads had found their way to the shop, and were settling in to make sure nothing happened while they were looking after the place. Jax had made it very clear that no matter what, someone was to stay with Tara and Abel at all times. He had told Tara what was going on, and she had agreed to hang around the clubhouse with Lyla and the kids. It wasn't a lockdown, but they knew that it would be better if their men didn't have to worry about them while they were dealing with what was going on.

As the warm California sun set, everyone loaded up and made ready to head out. Clay had thought that seeing as how Gemma and Addison were coming, they would be more comfortable in the SUV than in the shaky van. He had given Juice strict instructions not to let anything happen to the vehicle. Sack had been told to ride along with them.

As Clay pulled out of the lot, all that was on his mind was finding out what had happened to Quinn. He had promised his sister that he wouldn't let him go off and do anything stupid, that he would make sure he stayed safe and took good care of Addison. He needed to know that he hadn't broken his promise.

Authors Notes: On the road again….Okay so that's it for this chapter, I hope that you all enjoyed it. In the next part they are going to be heading up to Fairbanks and stopping in Tacoma, and yes there will be some Kozik mixed in! Please let me know what you all think about it so far! THANK YOU FOR READING!


	6. Chapter 6

**Authors Notes:** Okay all you readers, this is the chapter that a lot of you have been waiting for. A lot is going to be going on, and unveiled to you so hold on to your panties! Or don't, it's up to you. Again thank you to everyone who has been reading up to this point, and another big hug goes out to Kaylalong for all her advice, and facts about the show and characters. She has been awesome with helping out with this chapter, and making sure that it was the best that it could be.

** Thank you:** ozlady80,They Say Its Crazy, PixieSam, ThisLife103.7,HapsOldLady, Merciless Princess, Mrs Bass-Molfoy, weapon2020, bobgorgefred, Harveygirl9, Jazpup, SKYE-07, VersaEmerge, chrisd1016929, go4itgirl, suziraye, brookeburke, axtinag, stephanie is amazzzing, Cat Lea Takersdarkone, browneyedsweetpea, angellips09, Running-Wild22, justrae9903,FunnyMick, Reality-IS-Fiction, BloodyHavoc, Sarah7174, Caliza, SindelChaos, Slash95, Storylover30, Amyvedamarie, Baby-Firecracker, burpie, Dance1999, haleycruz, Indie Brown, inkdeep, jjnate, Keptlady, ohnoitshannah, Pirateninjaassassin, TemporatyFix , CharChar93, reita189, The Black Widow, Anarchyrose, laxysmurf247, Skipperlee, Angel N Darkness, SAA UCLA, Dutch'79, NJ10, PhoenixFeatherQueens, MischievousAngel0923, ivy473, carolo922, Meg Pairrer, and MelanthiaChase. I'm sorry if I forgot anyone. This chapter is for you all, and please let me know what you think.

Born to Die

Chapter SIX

_ Once she had the bike a good distance away from the house, she looked over her shoulder hoping to see her father coming towards her, alive and safe, but knowing he would not. _

_ The sound of a single gunshot, followed by loud shouts of thrilled men met her ears. _

_ 'No,' Addison thought to herself as she fought to keep the bike upright. She knew what she was told to do. Her father, out of love, had told her to run for it, but she knew she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she didn't at least try and help __him._

_ Carefully, she pushed the bike off the road, behind some trees. It was dark, but she didn't want to risk someone driving by and their headlights reflect off the metallic paint. She couldn't risk those men driving away and seeing the bike. _

_ Once she was sure that it was hidden away as safely as possible, she walked through the woods that she had grown up in, to the house that had always been her sanctuary. She couldn't even recall the number of times that she and her father would play hide-and-seek, but the happy memories did little to calm her racing heart. _

_ As she got closer to the house, she could make out the men still cheering on as if they were watching their favorite sport. _

_ The shock of what she saw, forced her to fall to her knees and cover her mouth with both hands. The screams lodged in her throat, as she fought to keep them in. _

_ They had the headlights of their vehicles turned on, and shining like spotlights, at a tree. She couldn't see anything other than the figure that was hanging from the tree, swinging back and forth slightly, her _father_. _

_ They had wrapped the chain around his hands and down his arms. What was left of his light gray shirt was now covered in dark blood. Apparently the shot she heard earlier was aimed at his leg. The trickle of blood worked its way down his jeans and into his boots._

_ "Is that the best you got?" She could hear her father say. She wanted to run out and tell them to stop, tell them that whatever message that needed to convey had been delivered, but knew she couldn't do that. _

_ "You think this is about you? I spent the last three of my life following you, following your little club. I took time to learn everything about you, your weaknesses, your secrets. You think I did that because you have something I want? This isn't about you. It never was." _

_ It was the same man from before, the one that knocked her father to ground. She assumed he was the one who had threatened her life. He was taller than her father, in good shape with a large build, like she had seen while in the basement. He also had dark brown wavy hair and a strong chiseled jaw. Addison could see him walking around her father, but she couldn't get a good look at his face, she wasn't sure she wanted to. _

_ "All this work, all the time I put into tracking you down. It was all for me." He said. Addison could hear the vile in his words. "Do you know what my favorite sport is? Hunting, the thrill of being the one in control, of taking a life away, to shoot or not to shoot, to kill or not to kill." He said, moving around her father who still strung. "But it got boring after a while, so I thought that I would spice things up." With that he slammed his right fist into Quinn's jaw._

_ "You hit like an eighty year old grandmother." Quinn spit back. _

_ Addison watched as the man moved closer to her father. She couldn't hear what was being said, but she was sure that it was the cause of her father's outburst. _

_ "You leave her alone!" He yelled out, the anger, tinged with a trace of fear, burned in his voice. "She has nothing to do with this!"_

_ Addison could only guess that they were talking about her, and she could do nothing but watch as the larger man walked over and took something from one of the men standing off to the side. As he walked back to her father, the light from the cars gleamed off the blade of a large machete in his hand. "Oh but she _is_ a part of this, she's the prize."_

_ Every instinct told her to run, told her that whatever was about to happen, she would not easily forget. But she couldn't pull herself away. She knew at this point there wasn't anything that she could do to help her father. The best she could do was to throw a rock at the men, but that would just be stupid. _

_ Seeing the man raise the blade up and pull back, as if it was a baseball bat. She couldn't contain the scream that surged up through her burning throat. _

_ "NO!"_

Addison shot up from where she had been resting her head on the side of the door and opened her eyes to see everyone in the car looking at her. She wasn't sure if she had screamed out loud or if the screams were still trapped in her nightmare.

Gemma was looking at her from the front passenger seat, with a look that she found hard to describe. Addison could tell that she had been asleep for a while. Juice and Sack had switched, with Sack driving and Juice sitting in the seat beside her, right behind Gemma. From the fact that none of them looked all that worried, she thought it safe to assume she had not been screaming.

"Where are we?" She asked trying to change the subject, to divert everyone's attention from her. She looked out her window to see that the sun had risen and was shining overhead.

"We're in Washington. Well be stopping in Tacoma for a few hours to give the guys all a break, pick up the new transportation, and eat." Gemma said, never taking her eyes off her. "You sleep okay?" She asked.

Addison could swear that the woman knew something, but she thought to play it off. "Yeah," Addison said, once again looking down to her hands.

Addison turned to look out the window as Sack continued to drive. She heard clicking sounds beside her and turned to see Juice type on his laptop. She had met him briefly; barely spoke a few words to him. She was told he was the intelligence officer for the club. She assumed that meant he was the hacker and techno-geek of the bunch. Given how young he looked, she could believe that.

He had a short shaved mohawk with lightning bolt tattoos on either side. He had a reaper tattoo on one arm and several skull based ones on the other. He looked up at her with his soft brown eyes and gave her a small lopsided smile that cause a tiny lurch in her stomach. She smiled back and turned to look out the window again. Juice looked back down at his laptop and continued to type away.

Juice's skin tone was a little darker as well, although not as dark as Hammer. That made her think of when she came back to the shop with Gemma, before they left for Tacoma.

_ As they got out of Gemma's SUV, Clay, Tig, and Happy came out to greet them with 3 other bikers. Addison was able to see the 'Nomad' patch on each of their cuts._

_ One of them was the massive biker she had seen roll into lot when she and Gemma left to go shopping. Happy introduced him as Stone. He was huge. He was taller than the others, pale skinned, shaved head with a light colored goatee. He had a very thick neck. It was a little hard to tell where his head ended and his shoulders began. When Addison shook his hand, it completely swallowed hers. _

_ He spoke to her in a surprisingly gentle voice. "Nice to meet you little lady. Your dad was a good man, he was, the real deal." She nodded back. She didn't think someone that size could have such a soft voice. _

_ She looked next to him at another biker, just as massive, but much darker in skin tone. His head wasn't as shaved as Stone's, with just a short buzz. He also had an intricate tattoo on his left arm starting from his collarbone all the way down to his elbow. _

_ "Hammer", the darker man introduced himself in a deep voice, with a hint of an accent. Her hand was also swallowed by his. He gave a kind smile, showing off some of the whitest teeth she had seen._

_ The third biker walked up in front of Hammer. He was shorter and thinner, but well built. He was pale like Stone, but with short dark brown hair and a strong jaw covered in scruff. He gave Addison a cocky smile when he said, "Hey, I'm Cooler. Don't worry, these guys are toast!"_

_ That's when Hammer shoved Cooler, who shoved back. They started grumbling something at each other as they walked away with Happy and Stone just shaking their heads behind them. _

Addison continued to stare out the window as she thought about the Nomads. These big scary looking bikers, including Happy with his shaved head and tattoos, were the guys her dad had called his brothers. He was their President. He had their respect. They all seemed very loyal to her father. It was a lot to for her to take in.

It was only a half hour later that they pulled into the parking lot of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club - Tacoma charter. The guys parked their bikes in a nice long line.

A few of the Washington members where waiting around outside. Addison saw one run into what she was sure was the clubhouse, more than likely to tell the others of their arrival.

After they had parked the SUV, Sack and Juice got out and stretched their legs, while Gemma turned around to address Addison. "You stay close to Clay or me," She said and then got out from the door that Juice had opened for her. She turned to open her own door, but was surprised to find it already open with Sack on the other side.

"Thank you." She said as she stepped down.

"Aw, no problem." He said, rubbing the back of his neck, and then shut the door once she was out.

She walked around the other side of the black Caddy, to see Clay walking towards her with another man. He was the same height as Clay, but much broader. His dirty blonde hair and beard were mixed heavily with gray. He did have a warm smile. She looked to his cut and saw the "President" patch.

"Bear, this is Addison, Quinn's girl." Clay introduced her to the larger man. She held out her hand, but was shocked when she was pulled into a hug. It was a quick one, but once he let go, he bent down to look her in the eyes.

"We're going to get the assholes that went after your dad. I owe him my life a few times over. I can't ever repay that debt, but if you need anything, anything at all, you give me a call." He said to her as he lightly griped her shoulders.

"Thank you, but I hope that I never have to call you." She said.

"You may look like your mom, but that was your dad talking right there." Bear said as he stood up straighter. He looked around and saw that the brothers were greeting and hugging each other. "Well, why don't we get inside and get something to eat. Elli and the girls have been up all night cooking. Damn woman has enough food to feed a freakin' army." He said as he turned and started to head towards the clubhouse door.

Clay wrapped a warm arm around Addison and pulled her against his side. "You stay with someone you know." He told her as they walked them into the main room.

The strong smell of food overwhelmed her. Addison couldn't help but smile and let out a little laugh at seeing Hammer and Cooler rush to get to the food first.

"Get to the back of the line, no cutting." Hammer said, and he tried to overpower the younger man. It was hard to believe that these two intimidating, mean looking bikers could act like little boys, especially when it came to food. She saw Gemma talking to another woman and started to walk over but bumped into a hard body.

"Oh sorry," she said as she looked up to see Happy looking down at her. He had raised his beer bottle up to keep it from spilling over.

Without saying anything, he took a sip and nodded to the spot in front of him. She hadn't noticed it before, but he had been standing in line, and was now letting her cut in front of him, and everyone else behind him.

"Oh I didn't mean to get in line. I'm just going over to see Gemma." She tried to explain, pointing over the other woman. She was about to walk off, and free up the line to let the poor hungry men eat, but she was stopped by a strong grip on her upper arm.

"You need to eat," was all he said as he pulled her back into the line, and lightly nudged her forward.

"Come on, what's the hold up? You've got some really hungry road warriors back here!" Tig said from further back in line.

That's when Addison heard a voice say, "Aww...what's the matter, does Tiggy want his num num?" She looked off to side behind her to see where the voice came from. It was another Son, sitting down at a table, with a full plate of food. He had blonde spiky hair and a tattoo on his neck. He was leaning against the table, smirking at Tig.

"No one's talking to you douche bag." Tig said as he glared at the blonde and then turned back around to face the front of the line, trying his best to ignore him. The blonde biker just continued to smirk at Tig.

Addison was about to ask who the blonde Son was when she heard Happy's raspy voice. "You better hurry it up. You think Hammer and Cooler are bad, you do not want to see those two go at it."

Without wanting to cause any problems, she took a plate and started to put some food onto it. She wasn't really paying attention to what she was getting, but she knew that she was going to eat outside, away from everyone, where she could think.

Once she had a plate full of food, she headed outside, glad to see an empty picnic table off to the side of the building. Setting down her food, she took a seat, and put her head down on her folded arms. Everything was moving so fast. She was so used to it just being her and her dad, just the two of them.

That all changed when her father had made her hide in the basement. Everything she knew, everything familiar, was gone.

"Anyone sitting here?" A voice asked. Looking up she saw Sack with a plate full of food and two bottles of water.

"No." Addison said, sitting up more and running her hand through her hair.

"Here I brought this for you. Saw that you didn't grab anything to drink." He said handing her one of the bottles.

Taking it, she smiled. "Thank you."

"So you want to talk about it?" He asked as he began to shovel food in his mouth. At how much and how fast he was eating, she found it hard to believe he was so thin.

"Talk about what?" She knew what he was asking her, but she was going to play dumb for as long as she could.

"The nightmare," he stated as he took a drink of his water.

She wasn't sure if she should tell him. He was a just Prospect after all, she knew that one day he would wear the patch, and proudly, but the warning her father gave her was running in her head. _'Only trust the patch, no one else.'_

"You know, when I was in the service, I saw things that still haunt me at night. The MC helps me deal with the shit I went through." He said, opening up a little in order to help her understand that he was only trying to help her.

She fought to find her voice, the guilt getting the best of her. "What happened?"

"Long story short, got into a fight with a land mine." He told her. "I lost a lot of good friends that day, my nut being one of them." He said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood.

Addison couldn't believe what she had just heard. "How do you deal with it?" She asked.

"Well it itches all the time." He said, again trying to get her to laugh. When he saw his attempt at humor wasn't doing the trick, he took a deep breath. "It's always there, no matter what." He said, talking about the pain of losing someone close to you. "But the thing that keeps me going is knowing that they would want me to go on and live my life. If it had been me who died, I would be happy knowing that someone else lived. It means that the enemy didn't win." He said, pushing his empty plate aside and resting his arms on the table.

"So why are you out here, when everyone else is inside?" He asked, knowing that she would appreciate the change of topic.

Glad that he wasn't going to push the whole nightmare thing anymore, she felt a little more at ease talking to him. "Too many people," she said. "I grew up on the road with only my dad. I'm not used to having so many people around all the time."

"Man that must have been hard. Bet it made having friends difficult."

"Yeah, I was home schooled my whole life, and my dad was my best friend." Just the thought of never being able to see her father again, that she didn't get to tell him how much she loved him before he hid her, was weighing heavily on her heart.

"It may take a while, but you'll learn to live again, and hey you already got a friend out of it!" Sack said, pointing to himself.

She couldn't help but smile though the tears that were forming in her eyes. She wasn't going to cry, not in front of Sack, not when he was trying so hard to help her. Taking a deep breath she knew that she had to be strong. Her father would want her to live her life, to be happy.

"So, you gonna eat that?" Sack asked as he pointed to her untouched food.

She pushed it his way. "Help yourself."

They chatted for a while, talking about of random things, when the clubhouse door opened and Tig, along with Happy, Juice, Jax, and Chibs all walked out. It was clear that they were in higher spirits now that they had rested and ate. Jax walked up and placed a hand on Sack's shoulder.

"Thought you two ran off somewhere." He said as he sat himself down. The others followed.

Pulling out a cigarette and lighting it, he looked over to Addison. "You doing alright doll?" He asked as he took a hit of his smoke. "It ain't too late. You and my mom can hang back here while we go check it out ourselves. "

"You'll never find the house, not if it's snowed since," Addison said, trying to hide the hint of fear in her voice.

"A'ight, thought I'd try." Jax said. He looked back over his shoulder to Tig and Chibs. "Go tell Clay that we're ready when he is." With nods from both, they walked off to get things in motion.

"Sack, take all this trash shit inside and throw it away. I need to piss before we leave." Jax ordered the Prospect as he got up and headed towards the door.

Sack didn't say anything and just got to work, picking up the two plates and his bottle of water. He left Addison's alone, seeing as how she hadn't even opened it. Juice left with Sack.

She was about to rest her head on her arms again, but stopped when she felt someone sit down on her side of the table. Looking over she saw Happy facing away, resting his back on the table top. He had pulled down his sunglasses to prevent the glare from the sun.

"Told you to eat," he said, not looking at her.

She was about to lie and tell him that she had, but knew it would be the wrong move. "I can't," she said, in a low voice. She didn't want to tell him that her stomach was queasy already with the all the stress. Adding food would just be a sure way of making her sick.

"Can't deal with the enemy if you can't take care of yourself." He said and got up to check out the two other SUVs in the lot. She wasn't sure, but it seemed to her that he was trying to encourage her to be strong, and he was right. There was no way that she would be able to face the threat if she wasn't prepared.

Those men, that _man_, had caught them when they had least expected it. Her father had known that something was going to happen, but he hadn't a clue as to what or when. What she knew could possibly help, but she hadn't told anyone the full truth of what was going on.

_ "You think this is about you? I spent three years of my life following you, following your little club. I took time to learn everything about you, your weaknesses and your secrets. You think I did that because you have something I want? This isn't about you. It never was." _

The voice ran though her head.

_ "All this work, all the time I put into tracking you down. It was all for me." _

"It wasn't about my dad," she said in a quiet voice, "or the club, not really."

Happy stopped and turned around to stare at Addison as she spoke.

Holding her head as high as she could, she looked into the dark tent of his sunglasses. "Those men _killed_ my **father** for _sport_."

** Authors Notes:** Okay so there you all go, I know that I said there would be Kozik in this chapter, and there was. Don't worry, you'll have more of him in the next chapter. Please let me know what you all think about the story so far. Kaylalong and I have worked really hard on this chapter, and would love to get some feedback.


	7. Chapter 7

**Authors Notes:** Chapter three has been revised and edited to make it more believable, regarding Addison's trip from Fairbanks to Charming. Also, in response to the comment that it seems like they aren't prepared for the trip from California to Alaska, it was never mentioned that it was going to be a quick day trip. In chapter four it stated that _'Piney and Bobby had been running around to get everything ready for the trip and calling all the other charters...'_ So yes they had everything planed out. Along with that, it is a known fact that they have charters in Canada and Alaska so crossing the border shouldn't be that much of a problem. (.org/wiki/Sons_of_Anarchy_Motorcycle_Club) is the link that we are using for facts about the show**. **

**Thank you to:** ozlady80,They Say Its Crazy, PixieSam, ThisLife103.7,HapsOldLady, Merciless Princess, Mrs Bass-Molfoy, weapon2020, bobgorgefred, Harveygirl9, Jazpup, SKYE-07, VersaEmerge, chrisd1016929, go4itgirl, suziraye, brookeburke, axtinag, stephanie is amazzzing, Cat Lea Takersdarkone, browneyedsweetpea, angellips09, Running-Wild22, justrae9903,FunnyMick, Reality-IS-Fiction, BloodyHavoc, Sarah7174, Caliza, SindelChaos, Slash95, Storylover30, Amyvedamarie, Baby-Firecracker, burpie, Dance1999, haleycruz, Indie Brown, inkdeep, jjnate, Keptlady, ohnoitshannah, Pirateninjaassassin, TemporatyFix , CharChar93, reita189, The Black Widow, Anarchyrose, laxysmurf247, Skipperlee, Angel N Darkness, SAA UCLA, Dutch'79, NJ10, PhoenixFeatherQueens, MischievousAngel0923, ivy473, carolo922, Meg Pairrer, MelanthiaChase, ShiloCoulter, natka, Paul'sImprint1293, Eimi, mbmjr07, Pianogirl, Tigerkat51, Wicked In Boston, twug love, ctLady, Havenly, Louiseee, Stardina, SamanthaCarol, SsSsSsSs71, fresco gee, Fighter37, DallyJackLover,Fall-Back-Down, JXB0208, addiktd, and EgyptianKatai53, this chapter is for all you, and we can't wait to hear what you all think!

Born to Die

Chapter Seven

Written By: DanniMitchell85 and Kaylalong

He must have heard wrong. Happy continued to stare at the petite woman in front of him, still sitting at the table. Unsure of what to make of what he had just heard, he moved forward.

"What?" He growled.

"It was not revenge. It was not a deal gone bad." Addison said, turning around to face him full on. "I've lived on the road with him my whole life. I know what he does for a living. I know what he does for the club. I would understand if it had been because of that, but it wasn't." She didn't know what it was about this man, but everything in her told her to just tell him the truth. It had been the same with her father. She had never been able to lie to him.

Happy continued to just stare at her until he heard the clubhouse door open and looked up to see Half-Sack and Juice coming back out. Pointing to the door, he ordered, "Get Clay, now." His tone left little room for debate. Once they had both gone back inside, he was able to focus back on Quinn's daughter.

I heard a gunshot," she said looking back down at her hands. "I had gotten away, just like he told me to, but then I heard a gunshot." Looking back up to see that he had closed the distance and was now right in front of her, she could feel his eyes boring into hers through his dark shades. His jaw was clenched, telling her that he was fighting hard to control his anger.

She could hear the door open and the sound of several pairs of boots stomped their way over, but she couldn't bring herself to look up. She knew that they would be upset and disappointed when they found out that she had been holding out on them.

"I couldn't just leave, not without seeing if I could help him." she continued to say. "It was dark. I hid the bike off the road, behind some trees. I walked back through the woods back to the house. I tried to stay out of sight."

"Addison, what are you talking about?" Clay asked, as he and the others made their way over. Looking to Happy, he asked. "What is she talking about?"

Without taking his eyes off Addison, Happy replied simply, "she went back."

Before she knew what she was doing, she had gotten up and was facing the tall, lean biker, with the shaved head. "What kind of daughter would I be if I left without trying to do _something_?" she said, head held high. She wouldn't apologize for trying to save her father.

Clay moved forward and took Addison by the shoulders, turning her away from Happy. "What did you see Addison?" he asked.

"They…" she remembered back to what happened. "They had strung him up on the oak tree, out by the side of our house. I couldn't see any of their faces. I only saw my dad hanging from the tree. They shot him in the leg, to keep him from kicking out. They were about to cut into him with this huge knife when…" she stopped, trying to gain control of her breathing.

"When what, darling?" Jax urged her on. He could tell from the look in her eyes that it was hard for her to relive the ordeal. But the club needed to know what they were up against.

"I screamed." She gasped. "They must have heard me, because they stopped. I knew at that point that there was nothing I could do, so I turned around and ran back to the bike. I jumped on and rode off as fast I could. After a few minutes I looked behind me and didn't see anyone following me." Her breathing was getting more and more frantic.

"It's okay Addison. You're safe now." She heard Sack say in a gentle, slightly concerned voice.

She looked over at him. "NO!" she shouted. "No one is safe! No place is safe! I heard him…" she fought hard to control her voice. "I heard one of them say that his favorite sport was hunting. That he got to decide to kill or not to kill." Addison's breathing had stabled a little, but her voice was still shaky. "He said he got bored. He wanted to 'spice things up.' He's been following the club, tracking us." She finished and looked out into the parking lot. She couldn't look at any of them right now.

"Christ," Clay said, standing up and wiping his hands over his face. "Why are you just telling us this now?" he asked, the anger seeping into his voice.

Stepping forward, Gemma stood in front of her husband, arms on his chest, trying to placate him. "Don't be mad at her," she said in a soft, but firm voice. "She's been through hell, or have you forgotten that?" Crossing her arms, Gemma held his gaze.

Addison started to feel dizzy. Everything hit her at once. She had seen her father beaten. Had seen men kill him for sport. The combination of the long ride to Charming, lack of rest, and not eating were taking its toll. She stepped back from the group of men. The guilt of not being able to do anything to help her father, then lying to Clay, just because she didn't want to deal with it, felt like an anvil crushing down on her. She could hear her heart thumping in her ears. She had lied to the one person her father told her to trust, because she wanted nothing more than to pretend that this was all just a bad nightmare. The fact that this is all very real knocked her in her gut, and the world around her started to spin.

"Hey, you alright?" a voice from her right asked. Looking over she saw the blond man from earlier. His 'Sgt-at-Arms' patch was visible, even though her vision started to blur. She wanted to scream and tell him 'NO', however nothing came out. Everything started to close in on her.

Kozik knew before it happened, and reaching out, he caught the young woman before she could hit the pavement.

Looking around he saw that everyone was talking at once. "Hey!" he called out, as he held Addison's passed out body close to his chest. "Think we can take this inside?"

"Shit." Gemma swore as soon as she saw that Addison had fainted. She moved closer to her and brushed her long blonde locks away from her face. "Let's get her inside and lay her down." She walked close to Kozik as they made their way back inside the clubhouse.

As everyone walked back in, Happy pulled Clay back. "What now?" Happy asked.

"Let's wait until she wakes up. See if she knows anything else." Clay replied.

Walking in, they looked around to see Elli, Bear's old lady, and Gemma talking in the main room as Kozik laid Addison down on one of the sofas.

"Poor thing must be exhausted." Elli said as she walked over to get a cool rag from the kitchen. "Koz, take her into one of the rooms instead."

Picking her up again, Kozik took her to his room and laid her down on his bed, Gemma right behind him. Patting the larger man on his shoulder once he had put Addison down, she said, "I got it." Then she took the chair next to the bed and sat down. She couldn't help but be sympathetic to what the girl was going though.

Elli had come into the room, cool rag in hand, and placed it on Addison's forehead. "Let me know if there is anything else that you need." she said to Gemma and then left the room, closing the door behind her.

After fifteen minutes of watching the young woman sleeping on the bed, Gemma was about to tell Clay that they should stay the night when Addison started to wake up.

Lifting a hand to her head, Addison pulled off the wet rag and looked around the room, confused as to how she got here. Looking over she saw Gemma sitting next to the bed.

"Where am I?" Addison asked.

"Kozik's room" Gemma replied. At Addison's confused look, she elaborated. "Tall blond, spiky hair? You fainted on him?"

"Oh, sorry," was Addison's reply as she looked down.

"Nice stunt you pulled out there. They can't yell at a girl if she faints." Gemma said with a little humor in her tone.

"I didn't…" Addison said looking back up. She was about to explain herself when Gemma cut her off.

"Save it." she said and got up. She needed to walk around. "Is there anything more we need to know? Anything else you aren't telling us?" Gemma asked, hands on her hip.

Addison closed her eyes as the memory rushed to the front of her mind.

"_After I'm done carving you up, I'm going to find that little girl of yours and make her scream so loud that her voice goes out!" A harsh voice yelled out in anger. "I'll find her, and I'll fuck her so hard, she'll beg me to stop. And you know what? You won't be there to do a damn thing about it!"_

"He said that he would find me." Addison said as she sat up. "He said that he would make me scream, and that there was nothing that my dad could do about it."

Gemma had a clue as to how that would be accomplished. She couldn't help but feel for the girl.

"You do know that we would never let anything happen to you?" Gemma asked as she sat back down in the chair and took Addison's hands into hers. "All those men out there, every single one of them would die before they ever let anything happen to you. They would do it for your father because they loved and respected him. You can't keep things in like this. It'll only kill you, slowly and painfully."

_ "Oh but she _is_ a part of this, she's the prize."_

"He said… he said I was the _prize_. I don't even know what that means!" Addison said as she looked up, fear in her eyes. "I'm sorry. I never meant to lie." She didn't want to lose something that she wasn't sure she even had yet.

Gemma sighed, "I'll blame it on the stress and shock this time around. But never again, do you hear me?" Gemma asked.

"Yes ma'am." Addison nodded.

"Good. Now why don't you go and get cleaned up. I'll go get your bag." With that, Gemma got up and left the room.

S.o.A

As Gemma closed the door, she took a deep breath. She needed to tell the guys what Addison had told her. They were not going to like this.

She walked down the hallway back into main room. All the guys were sitting on the sofas and chairs speaking in low serious tones. Clay looked up at her. "She awake?"

"Yes, and before any of you go charging in there, she already told me the rest of it." Gemma took a seat next to Clay on the sofa.

"What did she say, mom?" Jax asked.

"She said they threatened her life. Told Quinn they would find her and rape her." This was met with gasps and intakes of breath all around. "Also said one of the men said she was the _prize_. She didn't know what that meant."

"Fuck," Clay cursed. "We need to think next steps. Bear, can we use your room?"

"Absolutely, brother." Bear got up. "Come on."

Gemma got up and kissed Clay on the cheek. "I'm going to see if Elli needs any help. I'll see you in a little bit." Clay nodded. "Prospect, can you bring Addison her bag? She's in Kozik's room." Gemma asked.

"Tell her she can use my shower. Towels are under the sink." Kozik added.

"Join us in church when you're done." Clay called out as he walked away.

Half-Sack nodded and left to get Addison's bag from the car. Gemma watched as Clay and others walked out of the main room. This was going to be one long trip.

S.o.A.

Pulling herself off the bed, Addison saw a door that lead to a small bathroom and walked in. After washing her face, she felt a bit better. Hearing the door open, she saw Sack come in and drop off her bag.

"Koz said that if you wanted to take a shower you could go ahead and use his. Fresh towels are under the sink."

"Thanks." she said with a small smile.

"Feels better don't it?" he asked as he made his way to the door. "Getting it off your chest?" he added.

"Yeah," was all she could say as he nodded and walked out of the room, leaving her to think things over. Pulling out a few things she would need for her shower, she left her clothes on the bed and walked back into the bathroom.

S.o.A.

On the inside, Tacoma's chapel looked identical to the one in Charming. Several chairs surrounded a redwood table with the reaper logo carved into the top. Bear and Clay each sat at opposite ends of the long table. Kozik sat to Bear's right at the Sgt-at-Arms spot with Opie to his right and Jax on the other side of Opie. Tig was at the Sgt-at-Arms spot to Clay's right, with Chibs and Juice to his right. Stone and Hammer were against the wall behind Kozik. Happy and Cooler stood against the wall behind Juice.

"What the hell do we do now?" Jax asked. There was a pause in the room as everyone tried process what they had been told.

Finally, Opie spoke. "If this is not about revenge, but a sport, it is very likely this is a trap. What if they are up there waiting for us?"

"Then we charge in guns blazing and fucking kill every last mother fucker up there!" Hammer said impatiently from behind Kozik.

"With what?" Jax demanded. "We got hand guns and a few shotguns. We have no idea how many of them there are or their fire power."

"Addison said their basement is full of guns. She said it's hidden. Can't tell there is one from the house" Clay said.

Jax turned around to look at Clay. "And if these guys are waiting for us, we'll never even make to the house."

"We need a game plan." Juice spoke up.

Hammer lurched forward off the wall. "Yeah, well while you're doing that, those of us with _balls_ will go up there and get this done. You guys may not care, but Quinn was our President, our _fucking_ _brother._"

"Hey!" Clay interjected. However, before anyone could say anything else, the door opened and Half-Sack walked in.

"How is she?" Clay asked looking at Sack.

"Okay, I think. Still shook up though." Sack replied and he joined Stone against the wall.

"Should she still be coming with us? The poor lass has been through enough already." Chibs asked.

"She said we'd never find the place without her." Jax said.

Clay nodded. "I believe her. If I know Quinn, the place is remote and well hidden."

"Making these assholes all the more dangerous for being able to find them." Tig said.

Clay sighed. "We don't have a choice. And if Addison's coming, you know my wife's coming too." He said while rubbing his face with his hands. He was getting too old for this shit.

Bear broke the silence, "Clay, I want to send Kozik with you. You're going to need the manpower." He turned to Kozik. "You good with that?"

Kozik nodded. "Yeah, definitely. I want to help."

"We don't need your help." Tig said as he glared at Kozik.

"Yes, we do." Clay said with finality. "Thanks Bear. It's much appreciated."

"No problem brother. Like I said to the girl, I owe Quinn." Bear said as he turned to look directly at Hammer. Turning back to Clay, he added. "Only wish I could send more guys with you. But my VP and several of the guys are on a charity run to Vegas. We're a little short-handed."

From behind Opie, Stone shook his head. "That's okay. If we go in with an army, it'll just give these guys more targets, more casualties. We send in a small group to check things out, while the others hang back." There were nods from Happy and Cooler standing against the opposite wall.

"Alright then, we stick to the plan. We go up to Alaska and check things out." Turning to look at his intelligence officer, Clay said, "Juice, get on the horn to Anchorage. Tell them to meet up with us after we crossed the Alaskan border and bring heavy hardware. We're gonna need guns, AKs, M4s, whatever they got. They can act as backup too."

"Brother, that's a pretty small charter. They can't spare a lot bodies." Bear reminded him.

Clay paused and thought a minute. "Call up Grande Prairie too and tell them to send a few guys to meet up with us as well." Juice nodded.

"Last thing, Bear, you got our IDs and other supplies ready?" Clay asked.

"Yep, Drake just finished them this morning. You guys should be good to go." Bear responded.

"Alright, let's all get some rest. We'll spend the night here and head out bright and early tomorrow. Let's try to cover as much distance as possible with few stops." Clay nodded to Bear who banged his gavel and everyone got up to leave.

At the door, Kozik ran into Tig, who continued to glare at him as he had been doing pretty much the entire meeting. "Look man, I know you don't like this. But I just want to help.' Kozik said with the firm tone.

Tig looked like he was about to move towards Kozik, but instead just shrugged. "Don't have much choice, do I?" And then he walked out of the room. As Kozik followed, he watched Tig continue through the main room and out the clubhouse. Somehow, they both understood. The club came first.

Kozik looked around as he walked into the main room. He saw Juice on his cell, presumably calling up Anchorage and Grand Prairie. Jax, Opie, and Chibs were sitting on a sofa drinking. Chibs had a brunette in his lap. The Nomads, Hammer, Cooler, and Stone, whom Kozik had only met briefly, were at the pool table starting a game. Near the kitchen, he saw Happy fill a plate of food and walk down the hall.

From behind, he heard Bear say, "Kozik, why don't you and Clay go check out the IDs?" Turning around, Kozik nodded to the Charming President and responded. "Sure, follow me."

S.o.A.

Sack had been right, even though the pain was still there; it had felt good to let everything out. She wasn't sure what would happen, but Addison knew that she would do everything in her power to do right by the club. She owed it to her father.

Once she was out of the shower and mostly dry, she wrapped the small thin towel around herself as best she could, and walked back into the bed room.

There, sitting in the very chair that Gemma had been in, was none other than Happy. Frozen, she could not believe he was in the room. Blood rushed to her face as she quickly retreated into the bathroom, closing the door to hide from his view. Opening the door open a crack, she peeked through, about to ask him what he was doing in the room, when she saw a plate full of food on the nightstand.

"I need to get dressed." she said, hoping he would get the hint.

"So get dressed." Was all he said as he kept looking at the door she was hiding behind. He had removed his sunglasses and she had almost wished he kept them on. The intensity of his stare was more then she could handle right now.

Seeing that he wasn't about to leave, she knew that she would have to brave out into the room, grab her clothes and return to the bathroom to get dressed. And she did just that. Closing and locking the door, she changed into her new pair of jeans and a black long sleeve shirt. Once she looked in the mirror to see that she was decent, she walked back into the room. Happy was still sitting in the chair.

Sitting on the far side of the bed, she put on her shoes and pulled out her hairbrush, hoping to return to the bathroom and put some distance between her and the dangerous Nomad.

"Your hair can wait." he told her.

Sitting back down on the bed, she looked over to the food. It was obvious that he wasn't going to leave until he made sure she ate something. She was sure that he thought she might try to flush it down the toilet or something. Picking up the plate, she took a bite of food.

**Authors Notes:** We hope that you all enjoyed this chapter, we spent some time going over it again and again to make sure that it was just right. We would love to hear what you all think, so please be kind and let us know.


	8. Chapter 8

** Authors Notes:** Thank you to everyone who has been reading and reviewing, we love knowing that you all are enjoying the story.

** Thank you to:** Louiseee, Funny Mick, twug love, Running-Wild22, LazySmurf247, ozlady80, Meg Pairrer, go4itgirl, Angel N Darkness Carol0922, HapsOldLady, Pianogirl, mbmjr07, PixieSam, and Havenly for all reviewing the last chapter. We hope that you all enjoy this chapter, and can't wait to hear what you think about it.

**Born to Die**

** Chapter EIGHT**

** Written By:** DanniMitchell85 and Kaylalong

Stone took a quick glimpse in the rearview mirror into the back seat. He couldn't help the small smile that tugged at his lips at what he saw. The scrawny blond Prospect was asleep, resting his head on his left arm which was leaning up on the side of the door. Addison was using his right arm as a make-shift pillow, and had her feet pulled up and tucked under her. The other young man, whom he had come to know as the go-to man for information, was also passed out. Juice, iPod ear buds still in place, was leaned back on the headrest with his mouth slightly open. Anyone looking in from the outside would think they were a group of young friends on a road trip. No one would guess that they had just met a few days ago and were on their way into unknown danger.

Pulling his eyes away from the scene in the backseat and back to the main road, he was forced to pay attention to the black SUV in front of him. Once they had crossed the border into Canada, using fake passports and spaced out fifteen minutes apart from each other, they had been on the lookout for any trouble. They couldn't risk being pulled over or stopped. They had a mission to accomplish, and they didn't need any 'roadblocks'.

Along with their Harleys, they had left their cuts back at the Tacoma clubhouse, for safe keeping. They all piled into Gemma's Caddy, along with two loaner SUVs from Tacoma, loaded with supplies such as snow gear, a few guns (safely hidden away) and Kevlar vests. The SUVs were more reliable in the winter and the guys wouldn't freeze their balls off. Clay, along with Tig, Happy, and Hammer were in the Chevy Tahoe 4x4, leading the pack. Behind them was Gemma's Escalade, which Stone was driving. Bringing up the rear was Jax, Opie, Cooler, Kozik and Chibs in the 2006 Dodge Durango.

There was still plenty of room in all three SUVs to try and bring back as much as they could from the house. It was highly unlikely that Addison would ever want to go back, and there were 'items' in the house that the club couldn't afford to leave behind. After they have a chance to check out the inventory, they would set up with the other charters to transport said 'items' over the border, and back to Charming.

Stone, all during the trip, couldn't believe that Quinn had been taken down. It was hard to contemplate someone being able to better him. It had been Quinn, who had helped him and most of the Nomads, deal with the harsh reality of what they did. And Quinn understood better than anyone why they did it.

He couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the poor bastards who had thought it would be fun to hunt them down like dogs. It was apparent that they had not done their homework thoroughly. They didn't understand the bond that the Sons had. Stone knew that nothing would stop them from smoking these bastards out and cutting them down. It would be bloody, and he knew that he and his brothers would relish every minute of it.

Mumbling something that Stone couldn't quite make out, Juice jerked awake and looked around. Clearly he had forgotten where he had fallen asleep. Rubbing his hand over his eyes, he pulled out the ear buds and looked to see that everyone in the vehicle was still asleep, except Stone, who was driving.

Not wanting to say anything to break the peaceful silence, he pulled his laptop out and opened his GPS tracking program to see where they were. They had left Tacoma before dawn yesterday morning and stopped at Prince George for food and gas. They had thought it would be best to drive just through the night and shoot straight to Whitehorse, only stopping to refuel, eat, and switch drivers.

It was now late afternoon. They would rest the night in Whitehorse, then drive another ten hours to Fairbanks, where they would meet up with their brothers from Anchorage, Alaska and Grande Prairie, Alberta.

Looking over at the sleeping girl next to him, he could only imagine how her life had changed. He didn't know her, but he knew that he wanted to do right by her. She was Clay's niece and the daughter of a club President. She may not have physically grown up in the club, but the club was in her blood. She was family and you do not mess with family.

Seeing the sign for Whitehorse pass by, Juice packed up his gear and was about to lean over to wake up Half-Sack, when the young man opened his eyes.

Looking down, Half-Sack couldn't help but smile as he saw why his right arm was numb. The mess of blonde hair covered most of Addison's face, but he was glad that she had been able to sleep peacefully for a while. She had been through so much, and he knew that she would have to go though even more before this nightmare would be over.

"Lucky bastard," Juice said as he saw the smile on Half-Sack's face. "You got the cute end," he said as he pointed to were Addison's feet had worked their way onto his lap.

Poking her lightly, Half-Sack and Juice couldn't help but laugh as she popped up and started to apologize for falling asleep on them.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to kidnap your arm," she said as she saw Half-Sack rub his shoulder to get the blood flowing again. She then looked over to where her feet were. "Sorry," she said as she pulled them off Juice's lap and tried her best to sit up straight and not touch the two men on either side of her.

"It's okay, I don't mind." Juice said, trying to reassure her. "But next time Sack can have the feet." He added with a lopsided grin. He couldn't help but smile even wider when he saw the blush on Addison's cheeks.

It wasn't much longer until they were pulling into a motel parking lot, and all piled out. Jax and Opie headed over to the office to see about some rooms for the night, and everyone else stretched, most taking a much needed smoke break.

Addison hopped out of the vehicle and stretched, looking around to see all the others doing the same. Once Jax and Opie had returned with room keys in hand, they began to gather all their bags and gear needed for the night. She knew that the chance of her getting her own room was slim to none, but she couldn't stop from wishing for a bit of space. Never before had she been with this many people for this long, she was beginning to feel a tad claustrophobic.

Walking over to the group, she heard them talking about who would stay in what room. They had only been able to obtain four rooms, each with two double beds and a couch. So it had been decided that she would room with Gemma and Clay. Tig would take the couch in the room, keeping eyes and ears open while the rest of them rested. The other Sons were left to fight over the remaining rooms. She saw Happy, Hammer, and Stone playing 'odds and evens' to see who of the three of them would not get a bed. From what she could see, Hammer was the 'odd man out' and would be either stretching out on the floor, or curling up on the small couch.

Half-Sack and Juice had offered to go and round up food for everyone. After everyone had had the chance to unwind and eat, they would all meet up and discuss what the next plan of action would be.

Sitting on the bed in the room, Addison couldn't stop the suffocating feeling pressing on her chest. Clay and Gemma had gone into the bathroom for some much needed alone time, and she was left alone with the Charming SAA. She got up and was about to leave the room to get some air, when Tig grabbed her arm.

"Where you think you're goin'?" he asked.

"I just need to get some air," she said, looking up to the taller man. "I won't leave the curb," she added, hoping that he would let her go.

Thinking it over, Tig let go of her arm and pointed to the window. "I'll be watching."

Smiling her thanks, she opened the door and took a deep breath. True to her word, she sat down right on the curb with the room window behind her. She closed her eyes and focused on breathing, trying to get her thoughts under control. The trip had gone by a lot faster then she had thought. She knew that tomorrow was going to be the day that they would make it to Fairbanks. Then they would all finally know what had happened to her father.

Tears prickled the back of her eyes, but she wouldn't let them fall. She had known that this day would come; had ever since she learned what her father did both for the club, and outside the club. She just didn't know that the pain would be so overwhelming. Her father had been the best father a girl could wish for. She had been able to tell him anything, and he would always answer her questions with the truth.

She couldn't help but smile at a memory of when she had been younger. She had been ten or eleven and had just become a 'woman'. Her father had gone out and bought every type of feminine product he could find. Then he spent a whole hour with her trying to figure out how they all worked. Most fathers would have stayed away with a ten foot pole, but not hers. Just like most daughters would have been embarrassed as hell, but she was extremely proud and touched by the efforts he had made. They had spent the rest of the time eating out of a large tub of chocolate ice cream while watching movies.

It must have been difficult for him to raise a daughter on his own, with all his other responsibilities, but he had done an amazing job. He had always gone out of his way to make sure that she was comfortable and content. Addison knew that he had done the same for the men who worked under him.

At the sound of a door opening, she looked up behind her to see Happy walk out of his room.

Seeing her sitting on the curb, he walked over, pulling out his cigarettes on his way. Not wanting to tower over the girl he sat down beside her, holding out his pack of smokes towards her.

"Oh, no thank you. I don't smoke." Addison said as she turned down the offer.

Putting the pack back into this pocket, he took out his lighter and lit up. Taking a long pull, he turned his head away from Addison to release the cloud of grey.

She had come outside for some space, but she couldn't help the feeling that she got when he was around. She didn't need to talk, and it seemed like he wasn't in the mood to talk much anyways, so they just sat there on the curb. His solid presence seemed to calm her turbulent emotions.

A short time later, Half-Sack and Juice returned with the food. Addison got up from the curb and after wiping off her butt, she walked over to help them carry everything in.

Happy watched her get up and dust herself off. He couldn't help but look up and admire her figure. She was short, curvy, and her blonde hair fell down her back in silky sheets. He would have to be blind not to notice her looks. He was a man after all. But he did notice that some others not only appreciated her looks, but were getting pulled in by her charms as well. He could see that goofy lopsided smile on Juice's face, and the shy gleam in Half-Sack's eyes. They definitely had that 'puppy dog begging for a treat' look to them.

Everyone had gathered in Clay and Gemma's room and started to eat. Stone and Hammer remained outside. The room was rather small and they didn't want to crowd the others while everyone ate.

After everything was cleaned up, Juice pulled up his laptop with the GPS program and zoomed in on Fairbanks. Addison knew they needed more intel about the area so they could devise a plan.

"The house is located off this road here," she said, pointing to a spot on the screen." There are no signs that mark the road and dad made sure to keep the trees thick," she told them.

"The road leads up to the left side of the house," she spoke as she tried to stop herself from thinking about what lay on the _other _side. "There is a shed off in the back; it's where dad worked on his bike. The cellar door to the basement is right under the back deck." She knew that the main goal was to get to the basement and get the weapons. Should those hunters be out lurking around, they would need them.

"We can't just walk right up to the house, walk in, and walk out with the guns. We have to assume that they are out waiting for us." Clay said as he stood up straight. He had been looking over Addison's shoulder to get a better view.

"We need to lure them out." Tig said from his spot on the wall. "Find out how many we're up against, what they're packing."

Rubbing his chin from the corner of the room, Jax spoke up. "We should send in a small group to scope out the area, see if there's even anyone in there. The rest should hang back; see if anyone makes a move."

Stone and Hammer nodded at his plan.

"I'll go," Addison said in a firm voice.

"Absolutely NOT!" both Clay and Gemma shouted simultaneously. Everyone else was a little too stunned at Addison's boldness to say anything.

"They've been tracking the club for 3 years. They killed my father. I'm sure they know what I look like. Besides, something tells me they wouldn't shoot me." She said and looked down to her hands.

"The answer is still no. We are not using you as bait!" Clay responded in a firm voice.

Addison looked up and protested, "I know the area, the house, the woods, everything." Then she looked Clay in the eyes, crossed her arms, and said with emphasis. "I _am_ the most logical choice, _uncle_ Clay." That earned more stunned looks.

"Excuse me?" Clay asked in a low threatening voice as he started to approach Addison. That's when Jax intervened and stepped in front of Clay.

"Whoa, whoa, easy. Let's all calm down." Looking at Clay, Jax said, "Look, I don't like it either, but we don't have a lot of options here. She knows the area and the house the best. She can get in the fastest and easiest. And these assholes probably _are_ expecting her to come back."

Clay turned to look at Gemma. "Surprised you haven't added in your two cents."

Gemma sighed, "I don't like it, but do we really have a choice here?" She looked to Addison and knew that Addison _needed_ to be a part of this, _needed _to do something.

"She won't be alone. We'll send guys with her," Jax added.

"I'll go with her." Stone said. He was used to being on the front line. This was his thing.

"Me too," Cooler said from his spot on the wall.

"If he's goin', then I sure as hell am," Hammer added as he glared at Cooler. "You ain't gettin' all the action." He said as he pointed at Cooler.

Clay turned to Happy as if to say, '_do I even need to ask_?' His suspicions were confirmed when all he got was a firm nod from the Nomad.

Opie spoke up for the first time. "You know it is possible they are expecting her to come back with a few guys."

"A _few_ guys, maybe. I bet they don't expect this many of us." Tig said.

"The rest of us will be hanging back, hidden, in the trees, and keep watch. If shit goes down, we charge in." Kozik added. "The Anchorage boys are bringing some heavy hardware. We won't be defenseless."

"I'll be fine, really." Addison pleaded in a soft, but firm voice.

All eyes were on Clay while he stayed silent for a few minutes and finally said, "Fine, but I still don't like it." He knew they really didn't have many options and the plan would probably work. He just hated the fact that he was putting Addison in even more danger. When he looked at her, all he could see was his sister Lily, not the daughter of a Nomad President. He had done everything in his power to protect Lily, and he couldn't help but feel that pull on his heart to do the same for Addison.

He turned and pointed at the Nomads. "You four will go in with Addison, to look around," he said. Then, looking each man in the eyes, "If anything, and I mean _anything,_ happens to her…" He left the threat hanging in the air.

"Ain't anythin' gonna happen to her boss." Hammer said. "They'd have to take me down before they can even think of harming a hair on her pretty little head."

"Yeah, trust me. It takes a LOT to take down this big fucker. I should know." Cooler added.

"Okay so it's decided," Jax said. "Everyone should get some rest. Got a big day tomorrow."

Everyone nodded and left the room. Each engrossed with their own thoughts, to get ready for the long day ahead of them.

The night proved to be restless for Addison. Her mind was going a hundred miles a minute and she couldn't stop thinking about what she had signed up for. She knew that she would never forgive herself if anything happened to any one of the men who had promised to protect her.

S.o.A

The next morning she was in the bathroom, getting ready, when Gemma knocked on the door.

"You got a minute?" she asked as she opened the door and walked in. Then, without saying anything, Gemma pulled out a .45 caliber Beretta and handed it to Addison. "Do I even need to ask if you know how to use it?"

The only answer she received was Addison taking the gun, pulling out the clip, and checking to make sure that it was loaded. She clicked it back into place and then held it up, aiming at an unseen target.

With a small grin, Gemma leaned on the bathroom door. "Father-daughter bonding?" she asked, knowing that Quinn would have taught her to use a gun.

"Yeah, something like that." Addison said. He father had taught her how to use a gun when she had been only ten, right after he told her what he did. Her father had told her that there were all kinds of evil in the world, and she had to be ready for it, should it come knocking at their door.

With a nod, Gemma pulled herself off the wall and took Addison by the shoulders to look at her. "You listen to those men, and do your best not to get in their way." she said as she hugged her.

Once they had everything packed up, and the Beretta hidden under her jacket, Addison walked out of the room to see that everyone was loading up. Half-Sack and Juice loaded the Escalade, and then they were once again back on the road.

The ten hour drive flew by in a flurry of white as Addison found herself looking out the window. She had talked Sack into letting her sit by the window for the last stretch of the trip. She was trying hard not to roll down the window to let the cool air hit her face. Everything was closing in on her again. But she wasn't about to let her fears get the better of her this time. She needed to be on the top of her game. She needed to keep her eyes and ears open so that she didn't do something stupid that would cause one of the Nomads to lose his life while protecting her.

They had met up with the other members from Anchorage and Grand Prairie in Fairbanks, not far from Quinn and Addison's house. Kozik was right, the Anchorage boys had brought some serious fire power. Luckily, not many cars traveled the road in the winter. And with the trees as cover, they were able to check out the guns and get ready.

The plan was still the same. Addison would go ahead with the Nomads and scout out the area and make sure that it was safe for the others. Should there be a threat, they would run for the house, and lock it down. The others would hang back and be watching. Hopefully they would be able to make out where the threats were and take them out.

It sounded risky in her mind, and she knew that it sounded even more stupid when it was spoken out loud.

Everyone got ready, putting their Kevlar vests, checking their weapons, etc. Gemma noticed none of the Nomads had put on their vests and asked them about it. Her mind was eased when Happy and the other Nomads pulled up their sweatshirts to show her that they were taken care of. Most of them hardly ever left the clubhouse without their vests on.

Addison had managed to check the Beretta and make sure that it was still placed in the back of her jeans without anyone noticing. Taking a deep breath, she pulled herself into the front seat of the Durango and readied herself for what they were about to do. Stone got in behind the wheel, as the others loaded up in the back. Cooler had taken a seat in third row, and Hammer sat right behind Stone, leaving Happy right behind Addison.

With the Anchorage and Grand Prairie boys staying behind as back up, and keeping Gemma out of trouble, the three SUVs pulled out back onto the main road. She gave Stone the directions on how to get to the house, the other two SUV's behind them. Once they got to the driveway that led to up the house, she could see the others stop and hold back, using the trees as cover.

"You ready for this?" Stone asked in an eerily calm voice.

"I have to be." she answered.

Stone pulled them up as close to the house as they could. He wanted to leave as little room as possible between them and the house. Addison waited for the others to get out first, as Clay had told her. Opening the door and getting down, she couldn't help but feel safe next to Happy and Cooler as they stood close to her. It was clearly written on their faces that they weren't about to let anything happen to her. She kept her eyes on the front door and was about to walk forward when Happy took a hold of her arm. Looking up, she saw that he was looking around the surrounding area, making sure nothing was going to jump out.

Once he was satisfied with the calm of the trees, he let her arm go, making sure he was one step behind. They had made it half way to the house when they heard a noise come from the left, and Happy pulled her behind him, pulling out his gun and holding it up. Hammer took to her right and Stone to her left. Cooler was a bit ahead of them.

"Get to the house." Cooler said as he advanced on the pile of cut wood, where the noise came from.

Happy pushed Addison back, as he kept his eyes on where Cooler was walking. Hammer and Stone moved with him. Once they made it to the front deck, Addison took to the front steps and was about to open the door when all hell broke loose.

She could hear the pop of gun fire, and could hear Happy and Stone yelling out to Cooler. Turning around to see what was going on, she never saw the dark figure move from inside the house. She never heard the door open over the shouting of the men, but she did feel the large hand cover her mouth and pull her inside.

** Authors Notes:** Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! The next one is going to be full of action. We would love to hear what you all think, so let us know!


	9. Chapter 9

** Authors Notes: We hope that you all enjoy this action packed chapter!**

** Thanks to:** Meg Pairrer, BloddyHavoc, Reality-IS-Fiction, FunnyMick, go4itgirl, Angel N Darkness, Ciat, Sarah7174, Cat Lea Takersdarkone, Stephanie is amazzzing, Havenly, ThisLife103.7, ivy473, burpie, PixieSam, Louiseee, mbmjr07, ozlady80, suziraye, HermioneandMarcus, and twug love, for all reviewing the last chapter and letting us know your thought on the story so far. We love to hear from you and we home to hear what you think about this new chapter, it for you!

** Born to Die**

** Chapter NINE**

** Written by: Dannimitchell85 and Kaylalong**

From down the driveway, where the others were waiting, Tig and Kozik had binoculars and were laying low in the snow covered tree line to get a better view of the house. They watched as the black SUV pulled up close to the house, and for a moment they thought that Stone would drive it right through the front door.

They held their breaths as they watched the five of them get out. They looked around the surrounding area to see if they could see anything that would pose a threat to their brothers.

Kozik was watching the left side of the property and saw something move from behind a large pile of cut firewood. "Shit," he said as he moved to try and get a better look.

"Shit!" He said again, a bit louder. He could clearly see a man crouched down behind the stack of wood. "Fuckin' shit! It's a fuckin' trap. Man behind the wood pile!" He called out to Tig and the others.

There was a loud pop of gunfire and Tig looked closer to see Cooler tumble down. "Cooler's down!" He yelled as he jumped up from his position and headed back to the others with Kozik close behind him.

Jax, having heard the gun shot, had driven the Tahoe up and swung the doors open so that Tig and Koz could jump in. Once they were in, he slammed on the gas pedal and drove the SUV into the heated battle zone. Opie, in the seat behind Jax, had his window down and was offering cover, hoping nobody tried to shoot out the tires and flip their vehicle.

Clay roared for Juice to follow them, glad that he had made Gemma stay back with the others in Fairbanks.

The scene they drove up on could only be described as a small war zone. Hammer was down in front of Cooler's body, offering cover for his fallen brother, shooting at the man who was behind the woodpile.

Stone and Happy were covering the door, shooting along with Hammer. Neither of them was willing to back down and take cover, while their brother was down and still in danger.

Jax wasted no time. He didn't even bother to park the Tahoe. He just pulled the emergency brake and jumped out and headed for the shooter. Pulling out his father's knife, he rushed up behind the man. Yanking his head back, he slit the knife across the guy's throat. Jax released his hold, and the man fell forward and bled out.

Happy eased up once he saw that Jax had taken out the threat. He saw Stone move forward to help Hammer gather up Cooler. He continued to look around for any more danger when he heard another shot, muffled from behind him. It was from _inside_ the house.

Turning around, he saw the closed door and no sign of Addison. He couldn't stop the feeling of dread at the thought that she was _inside_ the house, where the _shot_ had come from. Without waiting for any of his brothers, Happy kicked the door open and rushed in, gun held up, ready to shoot the first threat he saw.

SOA

Panic and fear washed over Addison like a bucket of ice cold water. She was pulled into the house as she saw Cooler hit the ground. She couldn't stop thinking about his body hitting the snow covered earth. She didn't even see it, but she couldn't get the image of his blood soaking the pure white snow out of her mind.

Realizing that she couldn't do anything for her new family if she was dead, Addison quickly recalled all the self-defense lessons her father had given her. Whoever had grabbed her was clearly larger and much taller than her. From what she could tell, he was probably about six feet tall and he had very large lands. Her feet were lifted right off the ground. He had his right hand covering her mouth, and his left arm was wrapped tight around her waist, right below her bust.

Bringing her hands up, she pushed his hand closer to her mouth and took as big a bite as she could. He yelped and loosened his grip just enough for her feet to touch the floor. She shoved back and kicked him in the shin. Once she was released, she reached behind her back and pulled out the gun that Gemma had given her.

Not wasting any time or stopping to think about what she was about to do, Addison pulled up the gun, aimed it, and pulled the trigger.

The man, who she could see clearly now, fell back and hit his head on the corner of the coffee table, blacking out. He was bulky, though not nearly as big as Stone or Hammer. He had dark reddish hair and a full beard.

The front door burst open, and running on instinct Addison whipped around and raised the gun, ready to shoot. It took her a moment to see those dark brown, almost black, eyes of Happy. Once she recognized him, she lowered her weapon, backing away from the door.

He saw the body on the floor, slumped beside the table, and was about to ask her what had happened when more shots were heard from out front.

Reaching out, Happy pulled her in close to him, and then backed into the wall, under the window. "Keep your head down." His gravelly voice spat out in a dangerous tone. He looked to see that the others were giving Stone and Hammer cover while they tried to pull Cooler in, out of the firestorm.

He couldn't see them, but knew there was at least one more shooter hiding in the cover of the tree line. His brothers had taken care of the threat behind the woodpile, and were now using it, along with the SUVs as cover. Stone and Hammer were using the opportunity to pull Cooler into the house.

Leaving the safety of Happy's side, Addison stayed low to the ground and made sure the door was open for them. Once all three had made it inside, she closed the door. Without waiting for the others, she crawled on to floor to Cooler's side to see how bad the damage was.

However, once she started looking him over, she shouldn't help but take note of something. "There's no blood," she said out loud, more to herself than the others.

"Come again?" Hammer asked as he looked over his shoulder to see what she was talking about. He was still holding guard over Cooler's body, should danger come through the door.

"There isn't any blood." She said again and started to pull up the wounded man's coat and shirt. Her breath left her as she saw the metallic glimmer of what was left of the bullet, pressed into the Kevlar vest.

"Damn, still hurts like hell." Cooler said as opened his eyes, slowing waking up. He would never get used to being shot at. Even though he had the vest on, it didn't mean he walked away without a mark. Being hit by a bullet through the vest felt like being hit with a sledge hammer. And at that close of a range, he was pretty sure he had a few broken ribs.

Picking the remaining bullet from the vest, he looked it over then smiled. He was about to say something when he caught sight of a body on the ground. "Where'd he come from?" Cooler asked as he pointed.

Hammer and Stone both looked to where he was pointing and had to do a double take. They hadn't seen the body earlier. Then again, they had been more concerned about the threat outside the house.

Looking over to Happy, Stone nodded to the body. "Yours?" He asked.

Shaking his head, Happy nodded over to Addison.

Whistling, Cooler said, "Kitten got claws." He then tried to sit up, wincing at the pain.

Creeping over to check out the body, Stone saw that the man had been shot in the shoulder and had looked like he hit his head on the way down.

"He pulled me inside." Addison said, as she scooted back to one of the few spaces available against the wall, next to Happy.

Stone looked over to Happy. It was clear to all in the room that this had been the first time that Addison had shot someone. She may not have noticed her hands shaking, but it was easy to see the small tremors work their way through her small body.

More pops of gunfire filled the air and they were all pulled back to what was going on outside.

"It looks like there's another shooter in the trees, maybe more than one. Can't get a clear shot," Hammer said, as he looked out a window.

Remembering what the plan was, to get to the weapons in the basement, Addison pulled herself together. Knowing there was a door from inside the house as well, she edged her way over to the small kitchen. Happy kept his eyes on her, not wanting her stolen away from him again.

Keeping her head down, and staying on her hands and knees, she crawled to the kitchen table and tried to move it. However do to the lack of leverage, she wasn't making much progress.

Not knowing what she was trying to do, but seeing that she was having a hard time, Happy moved quickly and silently over to help her. It didn't take much for him to move the wood table. As soon as he had it out of the way, Addison started to pull up the wooden planks from the floor.

Once a few were up and slid aside, it was easy to see an old worn out brass handle and the wooden hatch style door. Reaching down, he pulled the old handle up and swung the door open.

Addison, having been down in the dark basement many times before, turned around, placed her feet over the opening, and jumped down. As soon as she landed, she reached out and found the string that would turn the light on. That's when Happy jumped down as well.

Once the light was on, Addison reached out and grabbed her father's sniper rifle. Turning back, she held it out for Happy. She was pretty sure he would know what to do with it. Then she looked around for the ammo.

Up in the house, Hammer turned and saw Happy coming back with a SSG 3000 sniper rifle. "Fuck yeah!" He said as he laid his eyes on the high power weapon.

Taking off the scope, Happy was more than willing to let the larger man hold the weapon. He may be a loose cannon sometimes, but the man knew how to handle his hardware.

With the scope, Happy looked out the window to find the shooter. It didn't take him long to find a man hiding about ten yards away, in the tree line. He didn't see any other shooters. There was no way that they would be able to get a clean shot from here, and until they shooter was taken out, everyone was still at risk. Looking around he saw the back door, but knew that he would be picked off if he tried to go out that way. Then he remembered there was another door to the basement, from the outside, from out back.

Handing the scope over to Stone, Happy told him where the shooter was hiding. Stone saw Happy's eyes shift over to the back door and then the basement door. He didn't need to be told what Happy had planned.

Stone crept over to the window, opening it just a bit, and caught Tig's attention. He brought his fist up, arm straight, elbow at a ninety degree angle, giving the other man the signal to hold fire. He knew that Happy wouldn't be very pleased to crawl through the woods and have to dodge friendly fire.

Once at the basement door, Happy looked down and saw that Addison had begun to line up different types of weapons and had to stop himself from questioning her on the pile of grenades. He should have known that Quinn would keep all the good stuff for himself.

Jumping down, he took a moment to look around and had to admit that he was highly impressed with the collection that his President had hidden away. He quickly pulled his thoughts back to the task at hand. He reached out and grabbed a case of ammo and reloaded his Glock.

"Back door?" He asked as he checked the chamber.

Addison looked up from what she was doing. She knew that he was planning on going out there, so she just pointed to the back hatch. "The back deck covers it, so they won't see you coming out." She added as she helped him open it.

She watched him as he stayed low to the ground and made his way into the woods. Her worry got the better of her and she quickly got another scope and watched him move though the thick tree line. The way he moved, so calm and sure of himself, was reassuring to her that he knew what he was doing.

This is what he does. This is what her father did. It is one thing to know what they were capable of. It is a whole other thing to actually see it with her own two eyes. He is a living, breathing reaper. He is a bringer of death to all those who stood in his way, to those that posed a threat to his family. She had no doubt in her mind that he had been the last thing many, who stood against the club, saw before they met their end.

Seeing him slow down, she watched as he moved himself around to come up behind the man hiding under some bushes. With striking accuracy he pulled the man out, and landed a well placed punch to his jaw. It was clear that he wanted to vent some of his pent up rage. Addison could only watch on as she saw him land one blow after another. Once his anger was sated, he stood up and pulled out his gun. Pointing it at the man, he pulled back on the trigger.

The echo reached her ears and she could hear Stone and Hammer up in the house moving around. She was sure that they had seen the same, and knew that the threat was now over. Taking a deep breath, she was about to place the scope down when she saw a movement from behind another tree, a few feet back behind Happy.

"GET DOWN!" She yelled, hoping that he would hear her warning. She watched as he turned around just in time to miss the knife to the back. Dropping the scope, she pulled herself out through basement door and took off into the woods.

She heard the shouts of the others calling her back, but she wasn't about to turn back now. She came up on the spot and saw that both of the men were on the ground. It was clear to see Happy bleeding from his left leg, the knife still lodged in the wound. Looking over to the other man, she saw that he was holding his midsection, blood flowing through his hands.

She saw the warning look in Happy's eyes but ignored it and bent down to his side. His hand held onto his bowie knife, covered in the other man's blood. Knowing that she shouldn't remove the knife from his leg, not until she could clean out the wound, she took off her snow coat and stripped off her dark long sleeve shirt, glad that she had worn double layers. One she had it pulled off, she applied it to his leg, hopping that it would slow the bleeding.

"Put your jacket back on." Happy ordered as he took over holding the shirt in place. Doing as he asked, she put the coat back on then looked over to the other man who was still trying to hold onto life. Happy, also seeing the man struggle, pulled out his gun and shot him in the head.

Putting away his gun, Happy saw that Addison wouldn't take her eyes off his leg. He had felt her jump when he had pulled the trigger, but she never cried out or made a sound.

She was about to help him up and make their way back to the others when they heard a crackle of static. Looking up at Happy, she wanted to make sure that he had heard it as well. Looking back at the man that was just shot, she could see a small handheld radio. Looking Happy in the eyes, she stood up and walked over to the body. She knew that he wanted to tell her not to get to close, but they both knew that he wasn't in any condition to be doing anything.

Carefully, she pulled the radio out of the dead man's grasp and tried not to look at his head. She quickly made her way back to Happy, holding out the transceiver.

Turning up the volume, they both leaned in to listen closely.

"Anyone read me, over?" A deep voice called out over the static.

Looking over to the dead body, Happy took the radio. "Who the fuck is this?" He asked.

"Oh, and who might this be?" Came back the same calm voice.

"The one who killed your friends." He replied.

Neither one of them was expecting to hear a cold laugh come from the other side. It sent shivers up Addison's spine. "Oh he was nothing more than a hunting dog. Was going to put him down after this anyway. You saved me the trouble."

They didn't know what to say to that, so they just waited.

"Well, it looks like you won this match, but the game isn't over. Oh and tell Addi that she shouldn't take off her coat again outside. She could get sick."

That's when Happy heard a gasp from Addison. He looked over to see her covering her mouth with her right hand and looking around. Happy looked around as well, but neither could see the person on the other side of the radio.

Then Happy looked back to Addison and saw the fear in her eyes. She seemed to have paled even more, if that was possible. "What?" His rough voice full of dread.

"That voice…that man…he's the one that killed my dad!" Addison whispered. The fear was clear in her voice.

"Fuck," was all Happy could say as he ran his right hand over his head. His left hand was still holding onto the shirt covering the knife wound in his leg.

"We should get back to the house." Addison said as she stood up and tried to help him to his feet.

SOA

Up on a snow covered hill, that overlooked the small area with the house, a rugged looking man shut off the radio and looked over to his partner, his brother. "They just made this game a whole lot more interesting." A smile that could only be described as evil graced his face.

**Authors Notes: Well that's it for this chapter, and we would love to hear what you all think about it. The next chapter should be out in a few days! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Authors Notes: **Sorry that it took us longer on this chapter, it proved it be harder to write then we thought it would.

**A special thank you to:** beccalucy, HappysHitwoman, Shilocoulter, leeseelee, carol0922, Clarissa8, FunnyMick, Alive At 2PM, go4itgirl, LazySmurf247, ozlady80, HapsOldLady, Running-Whild22, Angel N Darkness, Meg Pairrer, ThisLife103.7, PixieSam, HermioneandMarcus, tinkerbell6565, Cat Lea Takersdarkone, **for all reviewing the last chapter and letting us know what you thought of the story so far. We hope that you enjoy this chapter, and can't wait to hear what you think!**

** Born to Die**

** Written by: Dannimitchell85 and Kaylalong**

_**Previously…**_

_ That's when Happy heard a gasp from Addison. He looked over to see her covering her mouth with her right hand and looking around. Happy looked around as well, but neither could see the person on the other side of the radio._

_ Then Happy looked back to Addison and saw the fear in her eyes. She seemed to have paled even more, if that was possible. "What?" His rough voice full of dread. _

_ "That voice…that man…he's the one that killed my dad!" Addison whispered. The fear was clear in her voice. _

_ "Fuck," was all Happy could say as he ran his right hand over his head. His left hand was still holding onto the shirt covering the knife wound in his leg._

_ "We should get back to the house." Addison said as she stood up and tried to help him to his feet._

_**Chapter TEN**_

Trying his best to ignore the burning pain in his leg, Happy let Addison try and help him to his feet. He knew that whoever had been on the radio was probably still watching them right now. He would not show any weakness. He could not show that they were vulnerable to attack.

Making sure that he had his gun and knife –still covered in blood- he put most his weight on his right leg, his good leg. Slipping the knife back into its sheath, he kept his gun out, should he still need it.

Looking over to Addison, he couldn't help but want to chastise her for running out to him like she had done. It had been foolish and if there had been more than one guy, he wouldn't have been able to protect her. As much as he wanted to call her some colorful words for her stupid actions, he couldn't help but see that she had gotten her 'protect others at all costs' attitude from her father.

Quinn's selflessness had been one of his many attributes that Happy held in high regard. The man would always put the safety of others over his own. However, Addison was not a six foot tall, two hundred plus pound man, for whom killing was second nature. She may have grown up knowing what her father did, what he had done, but she had no hands on experience herself. Sure, she shot the man in the house, but that had been lucky, and it wasn't even a kill shot.

He knew he would have to talk to Clay about making sure she didn't run off like this again. The Sons wouldn't be able to protect her if she insisted on being reckless, even if it was to help one of them. Getting hurt like this was part of his life, something he knew could happen on this trip. Deep down in the black heart that most people swore did not exist, he was glad that it was he who got hit this hard and not one of his other brothers. He knew he could handle the pain. He could handle things that the others couldn't.

Mentally preparing himself for the trek back to the house, Happy allowed Addison to put his right arm over her shoulders to help take some of the weight off his bad leg. They had only taken a few steps when the sound of crunching snow met his ears. Feeling Addison tense up beside him, he figured that she had heard it too. Pulling her closer to his side, he leaned up against a large tree, hoping that it would hide them from whatever was approaching.

Relieved that he still had his gun in hand, he pulled the safety off and brought it up to eye level. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on the sound of the footsteps growing louder. Not thinking, he let instincts take over. Opening his eyes, he pointed his gun right in the face of the person who had been approaching them.

"Fuck," Tig said, "Hap," and then he backed up and held his hands up to show that he wasn't a threat.

Pulling the gun back from his brother's face, he put the safety back on. Then he looked Tig in the eyes and gave the other man a silent warning for creeping up on them.

He saw Kozik come out from around another tree and was glad that the two SAAs where the ones to come after them. He trusted both of them with his life, and knew that they were the best guys to have at his side in case something went south.

Lowering his gun, Tig looked to Addison. "Don't do anything that stupid again." He said, but Happy could see the look of relief in his eyes. He was thankful that Addison was safe.

Kozik had put his gun away and made his way over to Happy's left side to take some of his weight off Addison. He was able to shift his weight off his bad leg and lean on the other man.

The way back to the house had taken more time than Happy would have liked, but he was relieved they had made it back without trouble. Tig brought up the rear, gun at the ready, making sure that nothing jumped out at them. Addison stayed on Happy's right, still trying to help him walk. Glancing over every now and then, he could tell that she was still shaken up. Holding her jacket tight with her free hand, she kept her head down, eyes on the snow covered ground in front of her.

As much as he didn't want to admit it, she had guts. As much as he hated it, the fact is her warning had saved him. She also watched what he had done to two men, pounded in the face of one, and gutted the other like a fish. With blood still on his knuckles, and knife in his hand, she had been more concerned for him.

She hadn't cared that he had taken joy in causing pain the first man, causing his face to break, feeling him struggle under him as he landed blow after blow. Nor did she scream when he put a bullet in the other man, putting him down like the wounded dog he was. Her hands were steady when she went to pull the radio from the dead man's fingers. He had watched as she avoided looking at the bullet wound in the man's head and instead concentrated on retrieving the radio.

Only when she heard the voice come over the radio did he see fear. The thought that someone could instill fear into a girl who just shot one man, and pulled a radio from another's dead fingers, made him wonder what were they really dealing with here?

Coming out of the tree line, Happy looked up to see Stone and Hammer hauling the man from the house to the shed though the backdoor. They had tied him up, and were pulling him along the cold ground. He could see in the way that Hammer was walking that he was going to enjoy 'talking' with their new friend.

Making their way up to the front steps, Happy looked around to see that all his brothers looked unharmed. Juice and Half-Sack were pulling the dead body out from behind the woodpile. Jax and Opie where talking over by the SUVs.

Clay held the door open for them to walk in. He saw Chibs examining Cooler on the couch.

"Shit, you just had to go and out do me." Cooler said as he laid eyes on his leg.

Chibs looked up and said, "Go lay him down in a room."

Tig came over and took over for Addison and the three of them walked out of the room. "I want to make sure Cooler's not critical before taking care of Hap's leg." Chibs called out after them.

Walking down the short hallway had been difficult with the two large men on either side, but they managed to make their way into the first bedroom that they saw, at the end of the hall. As they walked in, Happy couldn't help notice that they were in Quinn's room. Looking around he saw a picture of the man he had admired so much. It was of him and a younger looking Addison.

He wanted to ask them to find another room. He didn't want to bleed over this bed, the bed where Quinn found rest, the one place that he let down his guard. He didn't feel right about this, but knew that there was little to be done about it.

Kozik deposited him on the bed with an 'oomph'. His leg jerked as pain shot through his body. 'Damn Koz', Happy thought as he glared at the Tacoma Sgt-at-Arms.

"Sorry man," he apologized.

Happy liked Koz. The man was good in a fight. He trusted him to watch his back. He had shared a clubhouse with him for years, but 'gentle' was definitely not one of Koz's strengths.

Happy was straightening himself out on the bed when Chibs walked into the room, followed by Addison and Clay.

Without being prompted, Addison walked up to Happy and with soft hands propped his leg up with a pillow. "I'll get the first aid kit," she said as she walked around the bed into what he guessed was the bathroom. While she was gathering supplies, Chibs pulled back the shirt that Addison had tied around his leg to slow the bleeding.

"Don't look like it hit bone." The Scotsman said as he looked over the wound. "Looks like it's just a small hunting knife. Couldn't have gone in more than two inches."

Happy didn't care how far in the knife had gone. He just wanted it out. The burning pain was wearing on his nerves. Addison came back out of the bathroom, with supplies in hand. She made her way over to the side of the bed, and took a pair of cutting shears and began to cut his denim jeans up to the point where the knife entered his leg.

"Aye, looks like Addi has everything here to patch you up nice and good." Chibs said as he helped set everything out. "Guessin' you've done this before darling?" He asked Addison.

Happy watched her nod, not taking her eyes off his leg. "My dad," was all she said in response.

Looking over to Tig and Kozik, Chibs said, "You two hold him down. I'll pull the knife out, and then Addison can stitch him back together."

That made Happy nervous. Chibs was going to let Addison stitch him up? Happy didn't trust many people to patch him up. He looked over to Addison as she was preparing what looked like surgical sutures. She had inferred that she patched up her dad. He knew Quinn had quite a few close calls. If she was good enough to keep him alive all these years, then maybe she knew what she was doing, right?

Kozik moved forward and put a hand on each of Happy's arms and locked them into his side and held him down. Tig took the more dangerous position at his feet, holding them down, so that when Chibs pulled out the knife, his legs would not kick up and do more damage.

Addison was in front of him with a thick piece of worn leather strap. "Sorry, this is going to hurt. Use this so you don't bite through your tongue." She instructed. He opened his mouth and she placed it in between his teeth.

Everyone was ready. He could hear Chibs counting and once he got to 'three', he heard the sound of blood against the blade and felt the burn rush though him, as the knife was pulled out of his leg. Unwilling to scream he bit down hard on the leather, tried to thrash around and succeeded in kicking out with his good leg. Tig and Kozik had to tighten their holds on him.

He heard the soft whisper of an apology from Addison, then felt the burning pain increase tenfold as liquid fire invaded his leg. She must have poured alcohol straight onto his wound. He knew that it was important to disinfect the wound, but he had never liked the feeling of alcohol on an open wound. He couldn't help but bite down even harder on the leather, and growl in anger that he had allowed that pitiful excuse for a man get a hit on him.

Eventually the pain eased up just slightly and he felt Tig and Kozik loosen their holds on him. Telling himself that the worst was over, he took a deep breath and pulled the leather strap out of his mouth. He looked to his leg and saw that Addison had already started to sew up the wound.

"We should get out of Addi's way and let her stitch him up." Chibs said as he placed the knife down on a nearby table.

"Chibs, go finish looking over Cooler. Kozik, Tig, get the others and check out around the house. I don't want anything else to pop out of the wood work." Clay instructed.

The three men left the room. When Clay was about to follow them, Happy called out to him.

"He was watching." He said, voice rough with discomfort. "The whole fucking time, he was watching."

That stopped Clay in mid-step. He turned around, looked Happy in the eyes, then looked to Addison. "What?"

"There was a radio on one of them," Happy said.

"The voice on the other end, it was the same man," Addison said in a low whisper. "He was the one who killed my dad. He didn't even care that his men were dead." Happy looked over to Addison. The whole time she was talking, she never stopped working on his leg. She was focused on the task at hand. Apparently she understood that with everything going on, they had to be ready.

"Said we won this match, but the game wasn't over." Happy said as he looked back to Clay.

"Shit." Clay said as he wiped his face with his hand. "So he could still be watching." He turned around and walked down the hall, venting out his frustration. "FUCK!" He yelled out.

Once Addison has tied off the stitches, Happy watched as she got up and returned to the bathroom. As she was in the other room, he sat up and tried to get off the bed to check on things outside when he heard her returning.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He heard her ask as she walked back around to the bed, and put her hands on his shoulders, trying to push him back down.

Happy was a little shocked at her tone of voice and her boldness in trying to hold him down. Even injured, he could still easily overpower her. However, that probably wasn't the best idea. He decided to not answer and just glare at her. It was his best intimidation technique after all. He may be a known killer, but for times when killing was not the goal, all it took was a glare and he usually got want he wanted.

Apparently the short blonde standing in front of him would have none of it. "I don't think so. That glare may work on them," she pointed down the hall to the other guys with one hand, "but it won't with me." She forced him back down on the bed, and gave him a hard look. "I can always call them back in here to hold you down again." She threatened.

He decided it would be easier to just sit back against the headboard. If she had been a chick from the clubhouse, she would have found her ass on the floor by now. However this was Quinn's daughter and apparently she was every bit her father. "You always this pushy?" He asked in as pissed off a tone as he could manage with the pain still burning through his thigh.

His answer was in the form of a glare as she returned to the bathroom to re-wet the rag with warm water. As she walked back she said in an almost angry voice, "In the last week I've seen my father tortured and killed, traveled over 6,000 miles, been shot at, shot someone, and found out a psychopathic hunter, who refers to his men as _hunting dogs_, wants me as his prize."

She sat down on the bed and sighed. Then she looked him straight in the eyes and softened her voice, "You and Cooler got hurt because of me. I can't make that right, but the least I can do is make sure you heal up." She looked back down and took the warm rag and began to clean away the dry blood on his leg. "Plus, it's time to get serious," she added.

She said no more as she continued to clean his leg. He couldn't help but take note on how careful she was being. The way she was cleaning away blood was like something his mother would have done when he was younger. After all the years of being in the club, Happy wasn't a stranger to a woman's touch, but this was different. There was nothing sexual about what Addison was doing.

Again, if he had been at the clubhouse, and any other woman had taken it upon themselves to wash away his blood, they would have been trying to work their way up his inner thigh. But the girl in front of him was only worried about taking care of his injury.

"I've patched up my dad enough times over the last ten years." Addison's voice broke the silence. He wasn't sure why she felt the need to talk, but he didn't feel inclined to stop her.

"I stitched him up for the first time when I was ten. He came home with a knife wound in his back. Obviously it wasn't fatal, but it still needed attention" She placed the wet rag down and picked up a dry towel to pat dry his skin. "He was trying to hide it from me, but he had always been bad at lying to me. I was so scared, I didn't want to hurt him more, but he told me that it needed to be done." Once his skin was clean and dry, she took the gauze and placed it over the fresh stitches, using white medical tape to hold it in place.

With nothing else left to do, she stood up. "I think that there should be some pain meds in the kitchen. Don't move your leg around too much or put any weight on it. Don't want to pull the stitches out."

As she turned to leave, he stopped her with a hand on her arm. In a rough, but steady voice he said, "We got hurt because we were protecting our own." He hoped she understood. They would do anything to protect their family. A knife wound and a few broken ribs were nothing. After all, Quinn had paid the ultimate price, hadn't he? "We would do it again."

She nodded and then turned around to walk out of the room and left him to his thoughts.

** SOA**

Out in the kitchen, Addison was looking around for the pain pills that she knew had to be somewhere. Finding them, she pulled two bottles of water out of the fridge and walked back to the living room. Apparently the 'hunters' decided it wasn't worth raiding the house. Everything inside had been left alone.

Handing Cooler a bottle and a pill, she smiled as he took them. She was about to walk back down the hall when the front door opened and Jax poked his head in. He looked right at her, then pulled his eyes away to find Clay.

"Clay, you need to see this," he said, looking back over to Addison.

"What is it?" Clay asked as he backed away from the basement door. He had been looking in to see his brother-in-law's 'collection'.

"We found Quinn's body."

** Authors Notes: **We hope that you all enjoyed the chapter, this is going to be the most Happy/Addison that you see together for a while, sorry. We are working on the next chapter now, and hope to get it out in about a week. It's going to be a much longer chapter and we want to make sure that we take the time and don't forget anything. Thank you again to all those who have been reading and have added this story to your alerts list, we are glad that you are enjoying the story.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Authors Notes: Just a heads up warning, this chapter is much darker and more violent than the ones before it. **_We hope that you all enjoy the longer chapter -6,000 plus words- there is a lot going on and we can't wait to hear what you all think about it.__

Thank you to everyone who has put this story on your alerts list or favored it. A huge thank you goes out to everyone who has reviewed to let us know what you think of the story. We read each and every one and they help us make sure that we are doing a good job at writing the story and keeping it fresh for you. _**Thank you to:**_ Fire Black Dragon, Louiseee, Kabagirl, tinkerbell6565, PixieSam, LazySmurf247, Dutch'76, flower-machination, HappysHitwoman, Ozlady80, Running-Whild22, Angel N Darkness, El Chacal, go4itgirl, Meg Pairrer, Eva, HermionandMarcus, ThisLife103.7, Alive At 2PM, and leeseelee, for reviewing the last chapter. We hope that you enjoy this new chapter, and we can't wait to read your reviews!

_** Born to Die**_

_** Chapter ELEVEN**_

_** Written by: DanniMitchell83 and Kaylalong**_

As Stone and Hammer dragged the limp body of the unconscious man along the snow to the back shed, Stone looked over and saw Tig, Kozik, and Addison help an injured Happy back to the house. He could see the knife sticking out of his brother's leg, but was glad that they were all alive.

Stone looked back over to the unconscious man and was actually thankful that Addison had not killed him. They needed answers and they were going to get it from this guy.

Hammer had dropped his hold on the large man's shoulder to go open the old, wooden barn style door of the shed. Once he had it opened, he walked back and together both Nomads hauled the man into the shed.

Once inside, Stone could see that the shed had many uses. The right side of the shed was clean for the most part, and had tools lying out on a work bench ready to be put to use. This must have been were Quinn had worked on his bike and did all the repairs to keep his ride in prime condition.

Looking to the left side, he caught sight of what looked like an old rocking chair, one that Quinn had more than likely used to rock his daughter to sleep as a baby. It, like most of the other things in the left side of the shed, had a nice layer of dust and was in poor shape, but it would work for what they had in mind.

Dropping the still unconscious man into the chair, Stone watched Hammer walk over to the work bench and grab a bundle of rope. After untying his hands and emptying his pockets, they secured him to the chair. With both his feet and hands bound tightly to the rocking chair, Stone pulled out his lighter, lit it, and waved it back and forth under the man's thick reddish beard.

The heat, with the burning smell of his beard had the desired affect and woke the man to consciousness. Stone watched the man's head jerk up as he looked around. He then looked down at his shoulder with the bullet wound and gently moved his head from side. Stone could only imagine the amount of the pain the man was in or what was going through his head at the sight of 2 huge, furious looking men looming over him.

"Glad you could join the party." Stone said as he pulled the lighter back. "Nasty bump on your head." He eyed the bruise that had started to form over the man's eye where he had hit the table. Hammer, taking the silent cue from his brother, pressed his thumb into the bruise, twisting it and applying pressure to make him understand they weren't playing around.

"What do you want?" The man asked, his eyes squinted at the pain. He looked back and forth between Hammer and Stone, once he could open his eye as far as the bruise would allow.

Opening the man's wallet that he had been holding, Stone pulled out his ID card and read it out loud, "Erik Patterson. Long way from home. This is an Alabama license. What are you doing way up here?"

"Hunting, that's it I swear!" Erik said, again looking back and forth between the two Sons. Stone could see this guy was nervous. In all his years, he had learned when someone was lying, and he could almost feel the lies coming off this guy in waves.

"You're lying." Stone said as he looked up to see Hammer walk behind the guy, while staring down at him with a look of concentration. It was the kind of look you have while deciding how best to carve up a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. Stone knew that before this was all over, things were going to get bloody.

"When did hunting involve trying to kidnap a young woman?" Stone asked. The calm in his voice seemed to increase this man's fear.

"Look, we weren't going to hurt her! I swear! He told us that he just wanted her out of the way. Make sure she didn't get hit." Erik answered. Stone knew the guy couldn't see what Hammer was doing behind his back, but he was sure it had to be painful when Hammer applied pressure to his bleeding shoulder. "I swear we didn't know what he was going to do!" Erik screamed in pain as Hammer clamped down harder on his bleeding wound.

"You helped him kill a man." Stone heard Hammer growl into Erik's ear.

"No, no we didn't do anything. He did. He did it all!" Erik cried out.

"Who's 'he'?" Stone asked, giving Hammer a look to ease up so that they could get a straight answer.

Stone could see that he was fighting though the pain, letting it subside before shaking his head. "Don't know their names." Erik answered in an unsteady voice. Stone could tell the pain was getting to him.

"_'Their names'_? What do you mean '_their names'_? You said 'he' did it all. Don't fuck with me." Stone warned.

Shaking his head from side to side again, Erik replied with, "There are two of them, brothers. The big one, he calls all the shots, and the other one follows. But they are both messed up in the head. The big one said that they wanted to come up here and hunt something dangerous, needed a few other men. My buddies and I thought that it was like bear or something, but then we come here, and saw what he meant."

Stone saw the guy was trying to fight back tears. Erik continued, "He said that if we did anything, told anyone, that they would kill our families. I have a wife and two kids!" He cried out.

"And you didn't think the man you killed had a family?"Stone asked in a low voice belying his anger. "He had a daughter!"

Stone watched Hammer as he pushed into the bullet wound some more, earning another scream from Erik. Pulling his blood covered hand away, Stone saw Hammer look around the shed. Then, with a grin, he calmly walked over to the work bench and picked up a work hammer, stopping when he saw a pile of deck nails under it. With hammer in hand, he took a hand full of nails and calmly walked back over, placing the nails in his pocket.

Stone could see the glint in his brother's eye, and knew that he needed to vent his rage. Hammer was a like a sleeping volcano, calm and majestic on the outside, but raging molten lava deep within. Stone knew that when the rage and anger built up enough, that it was better to let him vent it while he was still in control. Should it get to the point where Hammer lost his cool and wasn't able to control the rage inside him anymore, like a volcano, he would blow and cause a path of destruction to everything around him.

"What are their names?" Stone asked calmly.

"I don't know." Erik said. That's when Hammer took a nail and drove it into his good shoulder. Stone knew it only took one well place blow, to send the four inch long nail all the way into the man's shoulder, missing bone but cutting though all the muscles and nerves.

Erik released a blood curdling scream out as the nail was hammered into his body.

As the screaming subsided, Stone continued, "These guys threaten you and your buddies, your families, so you all go along with them, watch him kill a man, and then hang around for days to ambush us? You couldn't figure out a way to get away, find help?"

His breathing started to become erratic and Stone could tell his hold on consciousness was not going to last long. Stone saw Hammer start to lift another nail from his pocket, but gave him a slight shake of the head.

He needed answers fast. "You figured, what killed one man, what's a dozen more?'

Erik replied, "We weren't shooting to kill."

"Is that so, because your buddies shot one of my guys?" Stone retorted. "Stabbed another one in the leg."

"Really?" Erik demeanor change completely. Even though Stone could see that he was in pain, he looked up at him with almost an inquisitive look. "Are they dead?" He asked, tilting his head to try and look behind him to Hammer, however the pain stopped him. "Was there a lot of blood?" He asked as his voice changed. It didn't hold the fear that it had just a few minutes ago.

Stone was perplexed. Hammer stilled and just stared down at the strange, bleeding man tied to the rocking chair.

"My guy was protected." Stone answered, wanting to see where this would go. "You didn't get him."

"Too bad, what about the other guy? A stab wound is nasty. There must have been blood." This guy definitely had a curious look to him now. The need to know about the blood was clear in his eyes, something that Stone had only seen a few times before, something that he knew was dangerous.

"The fuck? What the hell's wrong with you? " Hammer spoke up as he and Stone looked at each other. It didn't need to be said between the two friends that they were both thinking the same thing. Something was wrong with this man.

The guy grinned as he looked up to Stone, ignoring the pain in order to see the look on his face. "Too bad, was hoping we'd actually get one of you."

That's when Hammer tightened his hold on the hammer and pulled out another nail, driving another it into the guy's hand. Stone didn't flinch when the nail hit a bone and broke through, pinning his hand to the chair. Another scream ripped from his lungs, but there was an underlying laugh that both Stone and Hammer had heard.

"You have exactly one second to tell me what the fuck you're talking about or I let my friend loose on you." Stone promised him. He was really starting to lose patience. This guy was leaving an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach, something that didn't happen often.

Erik took in a lungful of air and said though a chuckle, "My buddies and I were up here hunting moose. Got one actually, but we've gotten many over the years. We were at a bar talking about how the thrill of the hunt was gone, wanted something more challenging." He paused to catch his breath and continued, "Then this guy, the big one comes over. Tells us he's got THE challenge."

"So you all go with this guy and get off on killing a man?" Stone asked, a little disgusted now. Something was seriously wrong with this guy.

"You ever kill anyone?" Erik asked his own question, an evil, vile smile on his lips.

"Several," Hammer responded instead.

Before the guy could ask another question, Stone leans down and looks him in the eye, "I'm losing patience." Stone points to Hammer, who was twirling around his hammer. "He's losing patience. You've spent days with these two. I Want Names!"

"Big one called himself Tank. Called the little one Gunner." Erik said, smile still gracing his lips.

"Those aren't exactly names a mother would give to her sons." Stone said. Tank and Gunner were too common and wouldn't give them anything to go on.

"I assume my buddies are dead?" Erik asked, changing the subject, smile now gone from his face.

"What do you think?" was Stone's response.

"Jager, their last name is Jager. That's all I know." The guy's breathing more and more labored. He seemed to be giving up, but Stone had to be sure he was telling them the truth.

"Why the sudden generosity?" Stone asked with a suspicious tone.

Erik tried to shrug as he looked down, "My buddies are dead. Don't really care about the crazy fuckers." Then he looked back up at Stone with an almost evil glint in his eye, "Besides, he told me I couldn't have her."

"Excuse me?" Both Stone and Hammer asked simultaneously.

"The girl. Said he wanted to keep her pure. Girl like that, with that rack, that ass? No way she's pure." Then he looked straight into Stone's eyes, "You fuck her yet? She looks like a screamer."

Anything more he wanted to say was cut off as Hammer bent down in front of his knees and drove another nail straight into his groin. The screams that followed were louder than all the previous ones combined.

"You disgusting piece of garbage!" Hammer screamed. "That girl is family. You **do not** even **think** about touching her!" Hammer stood and walked to the other side of the shed, looking for something else he could use.

Walking back over to the work table again, he saw a large rubber sledgehammer. A grin formed on his lips, like one a child might have on Christmas morning. That is if the child was a six foot four, two-hundred-and-fifty pound biker who killed for an outlaw motorcycle club. He dropped the bloody work hammer and lifted the sledgehammer, tossing it up and catching it in the air. As he walked back, Stone gave him a nod.

"You helped a psychopath kill a good man." He said, as he brought the sledgehammer over his head, getting ready to strike a deadly blow. "You and your buddies helped kill a father," Hammer growled in a deep voice as he brought the sledgehammer down on the man's leg. The shattering of bone did nothing to stop him his rant.

"My President," the other leg was struck.

"My friend," the sledgehammer came down on the man's hand, the one not pinned to the chair.

"My brother," this time the mark was his other hand, the one pinned to the chair.

"My family!" Hammer growled out. With anger, but more so with the hurt and pain in his heart of losing Quinn, Hammer brought the sledgehammer over his head for one final blow onto the man's skull.

Stepping away from the unrecognizable bloody mess, Hammer dropped the heavy sledgehammer, covered in blood, with pieces of flesh hanging off of it, onto the floor. He took deep calming breaths, trying to reign in his inner beast. Looking over his shoulder he saw Stone nodding, letting him know he understood.

Looking over his blood soaked brother, Stone decided it would be best for Hammer to stay out of sight until he got cleaned up. They didn't need to scare Addison. They didn't need to let her see this side of them.

"Deal with the mess. I'll get something to clean you up." Stone said, making his way to the shed door.

_**SOA**_

Kneeling on the snow covered ground, Clay reached out his glove covered right hand and touched lightly the busted face of his brother. Nothing was recognizable. The beating that Quinn had sustained, and then left out in the cold, had taken everything from him. Chibs had come with him and was kneeling next to him over Quinn's body. But Clay didn't have to be a doctor to see that most of Quinn's face had been beaten and broken, along with the rest of his body.

Standing up, his joints protesting in the cold, Clay looked around to see that the others had their heads lowered. It was a hard sight to see a friend, a brother, a strong leader, in such a mangled bloody mess.

Kozik and Tig had come across the body in their sweep of the area. Both men now stood off to the side, waiting for their next orders.

Rubbing his hands together, the pain of his arthritis taking its toll on him, Clay looked back over the body of his brother. It was clear to see that some of the damage had been caused by the wild animals of the area.

Sharp teeth marks were visible on Quinn's upper thigh. However the tell tale signs of his broken body and bashed in chest where all too clear in indicating that someone had been responsible for his death. This had not been an accident.

He was glad that he had made Addison wait in the house with Half-Sack and Juice, along with Cooler and Happy. She didn't need to be traumatized by this gruesome sight.

Taking a deep breath, he looked over to Tig and Kozik. "Don't leave him. I'll get something from the house to cover him." He said as he turned to walk back to the house. He knew that he needed to talk to Addison. He was not looking forward to what he had to tell her.

Once he was back at the house, he took a minute to collect his thoughts. Opening the door, he walked in. Clay saw that Half-Sack and Juice were standing against a back wall. Addison was sitting on the couch next to Cooler. Happy had hobbled out of the bedroom and was sitting in a reclining chair in the corner, his leg propped up. Looking to Half-Sack and Juice, he told them to go help Tig and Koz, as he pulled off his black leather gloves. Clay knew he would need several guys for what needed to be done.

The look in Addison's eyes broke his heart, but he knew what needed to be said. Fighting through his joint pains, Clay kneeled down in front of her, pulling her small soft hands into his large rough ones.

"It's not pretty," was all he could say as he looked at her. He was fighting with his own feelings of loss and pain. He knew that he needed to be strong right now. She needed him to be.

"Addison, the damage that was done, it's going to get people asking questions," He said. He needed her to understand that if they were to call in the authorities, or anyone, that it could bring attention to the club, something that they had enough of right now. It would also put pressure on whoever was behind this, making it harder for the club to get their revenge.

Clay could feel her shaking, the small tremors of pain and loss working though her small body were hard to ignore. He looked over at Cooler as the younger man lightly placed his hand on her back, rubbing it slowly. For a moment Clay saw a look in the young Nomad's eyes that made him believe that he was rubbing his niece's back more for his own comfort rather than hers.

Nodding her head, she pulled a hand away and wiped away the tears that started to fall down her cheeks. "He wouldn't want to bring heat on the club." She said, her voice unsteady. He knew that she understood what needed to be done.

Pulling her into his large frame, Clay held her as she cried silently for her father. "We'll make this right." He whispered into her ear. "We'll make this right, I promise."

Pushing back, Addison stood up, and with her head lowered, she walked into her father's room shutting the door quietly behind her.

Clay, still kneeling on the floor, looked up and tried to reel in his own emotions. There was still a lot that needed to be done, and he wasn't about to let himself fall apart. Pushing up, he fought a groan as the aches and pains took hold of his aging body. He couldn't wait to get back home to warmer weather.

Turing around, he sat himself on the couch where Addison had just vacated. Holding his head in his hands, he knew he needed to tell the other two men in the room what they had found. Keeping his voice low as to not let Addison overhear him, Clay told him what he saw.

"They broke him." He said as he wiped his hands over his face, then leaned back into the couch. He took a deep breath, "Tig and Koz found him a ways from the house, looks like something tried to make away with him. There are teeth marks in his leg."

Looking across the room, Clay saw the anger and rage bubbling up inside Happy. It was easy to see his clenched jaw and his eyes had taken on their black deadly color. They always did when we was thinking about bring death to someone.

"They did a number on him. I can't tell if a single bone was left unbroken. His chest was caved in." Clay had to stop. He couldn't say anymore. "We can't leave him to be found by the Rangers." Clay said, lowering his head. "We can't risk anyone asking questions. They would start to dig into his life, the club." He was talking out loud, but he was telling himself more than the other two men in the room. "And we can't bring him back."

"Clay, what are you saying?" Cooler asked, although he had a suspicion of where Clay was headed.

Clay continued, "Even if we found a funeral home, they would ask questions once they saw the damage to his body. We don't have any influence here in Alaska. The Anchorage charter is small, not a lot of connections. It would be too hard to get his body back home." He said as he kept his voice low. As much as he didn't want to admit it, the fact was staring him in the face.

They were going to have to bury Quinn, his brother-in-law, in a goddamn unmarked grave.

The thought that he wouldn't get the last rights of a President of the Sons of Anarchy, was hard for Clay. Everything that Quinn had done for them, the lives he saved, the deeds he did, and the bodies he buried, had been for the sake of the club. He had done things without question, and he did so for the sake of the club.

Quinn should have been given high honors, buried in a plot next to his beloved wife, in a casket with a reaper painted on the top to keep him company in the afterlife. But instead they would have to lay him to rest deep in the cold ground, with nothing more than a sad farewell.

Clay was pulled out of his dark thoughts as the door to Quinn's room opened and Addison walked out, a thick bundle in her arms. She walked up to him and held it out.

"This was a blanket that his mother made for him. Dad said that when he was a boy, grandma would wrap him in it when he was sick." She kept her voice low. "He should be buried in it." She said and handed the thick wool blanket to him. Taking it from her, he saw that her eyes were red and swollen. She was fighting the tears.

Not able to say anything, Clay stood and nodded. He pulled her into a hug, and then made his way to the door. He could hear the bedroom door close behind him and knew that she had returned to Quinn's room. Letting the cold air hit him in the face, he walked off with the blanket in his arms.

A grave needed to be dug.

_**SOA**_

Back in her father's room, Addison couldn't hold in the tears any longer. Everything was hitting her. Her father was dead. They were going to bury him here in Alaska, and then within the next few hours they would be leaving. She wouldn't be coming back to this house anytime soon, if ever. Her father would never kiss her goodnight. She would never hear his voice tell her that everything was going to be alright.

Lying down on the far side of the bed, she couldn't help but cry. There was no one around to see her in this emotional state, and she knew that once they left, her alone time would be limited. She would allow herself this one time to let it all out.

As the tears subsided, she tried to pull herself together as much as possible and walked over to her father's dresser. She opened one of his drawers and pulled out one of his many black long sleeve shirts. She took off her jacket and slipped it on. She knew that she wouldn't be able to take everything with her, but she was going to take this one shirt of his. As a child she had always worn his shirts when he had been gone out on runs. It made her feel close to him, felt like he was holding her in his arms.

Looking around the room, she walked to his closet. Her father was great at hiding things and she wanted to make sure that there weren't any guns or weapons that the club could use, left behind.

Propping the door open, she looked down on the ground then tried to look on the top self. Not seeing anything, she moved the jackets aside, and stopped at what she saw. There in the side of the closet was a safe door. Unless she was specifically looking for it, she would have easily missed it, had so in the past, when she put things away in this closet. It was built into the wall, and the color of the safe door was the same color as the closet walls.

Walking into the small closet some more, she looked to see that it was a combination lock, but in the center of the lock knob was a keyhole. Backing up, she walked over to the nightstand and pulled open the top drawer. Inside was a small tin that held all kinds of old keys that she had played with when she had been little.

Pulling off the lid of the tin, she looked though it for a key that may fit. Most of them had been old car keys, and left over from when he would change the locks. But there was one key that stood out. It was a sliver key, smaller than the others. Pulling it out, Addison took a deep breath and prayed that it would work.

Inserting the key, she turned it and heard the lock open. Hand on the handle, she wasn't sure if she should open it, or wait and get Clay. What if something was inside that wasn't meant for her eyes? He had it locked away and hidden for a reason.

Pushing aside her fears, she opened the safe door. Her breath caught in her throat at what she saw.

There in the front of the safe was her father's cut, folded and placed inside with obvious care. Reaching out with unsure hands, she took it out and held it close. She had remembered that he had been wearing it when he had locked her up in the safety of the basement. He must have taken it off to hide it away before he had walked out to greet his death.

Unfolding it, she placed in on the bed. Returning to the safe, she saw that his small laptop was also inside, and sitting on top were his rings, next to a small velvet box. She pulled out the rings and held them in her hands, smiling at their large size in her small palm.

She put the rings back in the safe and took the velvet box. She opened them and let out a small gasp. Nestled inside were a set of his and hers gold rings. These were obviously her mom and dad's wedding rings. They were simple and plain, nothing lavish or frilly. Tears threatened behind Addison's eyes again, but she managed to push them back.

As she closed and put back the velvet box, Addison saw two letters. She removed the two letters and walked back over to the bed to sit down next to the leather cut. She held the two letters up and read the names written on them in her father's handwriting. One was addressed to her, the other to her Uncle Clay.

Without waiting, she ripped the seal on the envelope addressed to her and pulled out the sheet of paper. It was easy to tell by the slight yellowing of the paper that it had been written some time ago and left in the safe for her to read when the time was right.

_ Addison,_

_ If you have found this letter, then that means that I am no longer with you. I can't tell you enough how proud I am of you. You have grown into such a beautiful young woman. I know that this life hasn't been easy on you, and I'm sorry that you never got to have a normal childhood. I hope that someday you can forgive me and understand that I did it to protect you. _

_ I can't say when you'll read this, or how I have met my end, but know that I would have done anything to stay with you. _

_ I know that in the next few months things are going to get hard. Trust Clay and his family. They are good people and there is nothing that I wouldn't do for that man. I'm sure that you'll be meeting some of the men I had the honor of working with. They may be rough around the edges, but they all mean well._

_ No matter what happens, know that I love you, and remember never to trust anyone who isn't a Son._

_ Your loving father._

The tears were back in full force now, and there was nothing that she could do to stop them. He had written this letter years ago, not knowing when his last day would be.

After a few minutes of letting the tears fall, she held the letter to Clay in her hand. She knew that she needed to give him this letter. It could have something important in it.

_**SOA **_

Clay just gave one of the hardest orders ever in his long reign as President. He had ordered Tig and Kozik to wrap Quinn's body, carefully in the wool blanket, and told Jax and the others that they needed to find some shovels. It was met with some resistance from his stepson, but once Clay told him, told them all that there wasn't any other way, they all did what was asked.

Looking up he saw Stone and Hammer walking out of the shed, Hammer was wiping his hands clean on a bloodied rag and he hoped that they had been able to get something out of the man before he met his untimely death.

Walking over, he looked back and nodded over to where the others were wrapping up the body.

"We found Quinn." Clay said, keeping his voice low.

"Damn." Stone said as he looked over the other man's shoulder. "Clay, it's not safe to stay here," he said.

"What you get out of him?" Clay asked as he nodded back to the shed.

"We're dealing with some sick mother fuckers." Stone replied.

"You get names?" Clay asked as he stood straight. He needed to know that they had a lead, something to follow.

"Yeah, two sick brothers who want to hunt us down for sport. " Stone growled out, not liking the thought of what they were going to have to face in the months to come.

"Good, get them to Juice. We'll see what he comes up with." Clay said as he looked back to the others, about to walk off.

"Clay," Stone said as he pulled on his arm to stop him. "I don't know why, but they go it in their head to keep Addison. Said something about keeping her 'pure'. Add that to what she heard about her being the 'prize'…" He trailed off.

Letting Stone's words sink in, Clay saw red as the anger took him over. The words 'pure' and 'prize' brought up several images in his mind, none of them good. There was no way that he would let that happen to his young niece.

"No one is going to lay a fucking hand on her while I'm still breathing." Clay said as he pulled Stone in close.

Clay pulled away when he saw the backdoor to the house open and Addison step out. The men watched as she looked around, and the moment her red puffy eyes landed on them, she left the deck and made her way over.

Once she got close to them, she held out her hand. "Dad had a safe. I just found it. This was inside, for you." She said as she held out the letter.

Taking the envelope from her small shaking hands, Clay looked to Stone and with only his eyes told the other man to get her back into the house.

As he watched them walk off, he took a deep breath and opened the letter.

_ Clay, _

_ If you're reading this, I'm dead. I hope that I went out in a blaze of glory and didn't die from choking on some turkey leg or something._

_ I don't know when this letter will find you, but know that I'm sorry. I know that you never blamed me for Lilly's death, but I do. I should have been there, should have done something more. _

_ I'm also sorry that I have kept Addison away from you. You should have been able to see her grow up. You lost your sister, and I took away your niece, thinking that I was doing the right thing. I hope that you can forgive me for robbing you of Addison's childhood._

_ Addison is a wonderful girl. I see more and more of her mother in her every day. And like Lilly, she is a caregiver. She will give all of herself to care for others, not minding what she herself needs. I have watched her grow into a beautiful young woman and as much as I hate to think about it, she is going to make a great wife and mother someday. I just hope that she is smart enough to end up with a man who is nothing like me. _

_ Please look after her, and keep her as safe as you can. All these years I thought that I was taking care of her, but she has been taking care of me. _

_ Quinn_

Folding up the letter, Clay placed it back into the envelope and tucked it into his inner jacket pocket. Placing his hands on his hips, he looked down and thought of everything that had happened in the last week. His brother and friend was dead, and he knew that he wouldn't stop until the two men responsible for his brutal death were broken, bloody and begging for death.

**Authors Notes:** This chapter is probably going to be the saddest one out of the whole story. (But we can't promise anything.) We where both crying while we wrote it, and we hope that we didn't make too many of you cry when you read it.

As always we would love to know your thought on the chapter, and we hope that you where able to enjoy the read, even if it was darker than the other chapters have been.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Authors Notes:**_ We would like to take the time to say thank you all so very much for reading and review. As much as we love working on this story, we are both so happy that you enjoy reading it.

_**Thank you to:**_ HappysHitwoman, HapsOldLady, Eva, twug love, fanficfan4ever, flower-machinations, justrae9903, ozlady80, JazySmruf247, El Chacal, Wicked in Baston, go4itgirl, ThisLife103.7, ShiloCoulter, suziraye, Funny Mick, Running-Whild22, Fire Black Dragon, ejopp, leeseelee, Angel N Darkness, pixiesam, Meg Pairrer, and Alive At 2PM. Most of you have been with this story from the beginning and we hope that you continue to enjoy it.

_**Born to Die**_

_** Chapter TWELVE**_

_** Written By:**_ _**Dannimitchell85 and Kaylalong**_

Keeping his focus on the road ahead of him, Hammer glanced over briefly to the front passenger seat to see his brother dozing peacefully. He knew that the knife wound to Hap's thigh did more damage to his pride than to his leg.

Like most of his Nomad brothers, Hap didn't like to be a burden on anyone. He would rather be in the shadows doing what needed to be done, rather than in the spotlight getting attention and shit. The fact that now his brother needed to rely on the aid of others was probably what hurt more than the actual injury. Although Hammer was sure he still felt pain when he moved his leg too much.

Hammer smirked because he knew that once they got back to Tacoma, Happy wouldn't mind all the _attention_ he would be getting. There were bound to be a few blondes hanging around that would love to play _nurse_ to him. With a mental laugh, he knew that Cooler would try and get the same. The last few days were rough and emotionally exhausting. Hammer knew for a fact that there was one sure fire way to relieve the tension these men were feeling.

He knew they would get these bastards who were responsible for Quinn's brutal and untimely death. However, something told him that things were going to get much worse before they got better.

Looking into the rearview mirror, he saw Addison looking out the window at the passing scenery, a blank stare on her face. He knew that the last week had been hell for her, and it tugged at his heart. He felt that he should have made that sick bastard, Erik, suffer more. Although he was dead, Hammer couldn't stop thinking of more ways to make him suffer. Keeping a mental list, he knew that he would be able to take pleasure in inflicting his methods on the two brothers who had started this disgusting game.

Focusing back on the road, he was glad that they were almost to the Tacoma clubhouse. He could see that everyone was in his or her own world, more than likely still thinking about what they had had to do just two days ago.

Hammer, along with Stone, Tig and Koz had started to dig the grave for Quinn. Once they shoveled through the snow, it turned out the ground underneath had frozen over. Most of the Sons were from the West Coast and not familiar with the Alaskan climate or terrain. That's when Clay called up their Anchorage brothers who had been waiting in Fairbanks with Gemma and the boys from Grand Prairie.

It turns out the Anchorage boys had brought pickaxes with them, being familiar with the Alaskan environment and guessing they would be needed. They found more picks in Quinn's shed and through a combination of hot water, pickaxes, and shovels, they were able to dig the grave. Then with much sadness, the four of them lowered Quinn's body, wrapped in his childhood blanket, into the cold ground.

Hammer watched as Addison kissed the blanket wrapped forehead of her father, and placed a picture of her mother into the folds of the blanket. He had been unable to keep his eyes from misting and had to look away, to keep from shedding tears in front of his brothers.

He watched as Clay wiped away what had to be tears and knew that he had been trying to keep a strong face in front of his club. Even though the Anchorage boys came to the house, Gemma and their Canadian brothers stayed back in Fairbanks. They didn't know how safe Quinn's property was and didn't want any more people on the property than there already were.

Jax stood beside Clay with Opie behind him off to the side. The Prospect, Half-Sack, and Juice had somehow found their way close to Addison. Addison had her face tucked into Half-Sack's shoulder, trying her best not to cry, while he had his arms wrapped around her. Juice was on her other side with his hand on her shoulder. Hammer was happy to see the two younger members had bonded with her and were comforting her. She was going to need friends in the months to come, to help her deal with the loss. Although her heart was probably breaking on the inside, she put on a strong front. Hammer knew that Quinn would have been proud of her.

Once the body was lowered, they filled the grave back up, all while the others watched on. Cooler and Happy had hobbled out of the warm house in order to pay their respects. As Hammer did his scan of everyone, he saw the determined look in Happy's eyes and the set of his jaw. It was for only a split second, but Hammer could have sworn that Happy had been staring at Addison the whole time. However, he was all too familiar with the killer's death glare so he left it alone.

Once the burial was over and silent goodbyes made, Hammer heard Clay instruct the Anchorage boys to dispose of the four dead bodies. Clay said he didn't care how or where, just as far away from Quinn's property as possible and to make sure they were never found. The Anchorage boys agreed and asked no questions.

Then it was time to pack everything up. Addison had been right; Quinn's basement was full of some major hardware. In addition to the assortment of firearms, there were knives of all shapes and sizes, crossbows, grenades and grenade launchers. Hammer was almost giddy when he saw the basement full of weapons. As they were packing up the weapons, Hammer saw Tig smirk at Koz as he tossed him a grenade. When Koz caught it, he stared at it with a look of horror. Hammer didn't know Koz very well, but found it strange he would react that way. The pin was still intact, so it wasn't going to explode anytime soon. He figured maybe it was something from their Marine days.

They packed up as many weapons as they could, hidden in the SUVs, and asked the Anchorage boys to take the rest to their clubhouse. They would make arrangements to smuggle the rest back across the Canadian borders.

As they started getting into the SUVs, Stone insisted that Addison ride with Hammer and Happy. He said that Happy's injury needed attention and Addison should be in the same car. That earned him a glare from Happy, but he said nothing. Hammer figured after their 'conversation' with the sick bastard Erik Patterson, Stone wanted to keep Addison close.

Hammer couldn't agree more. When he helped lower Quinn's body into the grave, he made a silent prayer to his President to keep Addison safe. He assumed Stone made the same promise. Hammer smirked again, they would be like her personal guard dogs, six feet plus, gun toting guard dogs. Addison agreed so Stone and Tig switched. Tig drove Gemma's Escalade and Clay rode in the Durango with Jax and the others.

Hammer was pulled out of his thoughts as he saw the Durango in front of him turn into the parking lot of the Tacoma clubhouse. Pulling in himself, he couldn't wait to get out, stretch, than find a sweet girl to help him relax.

Parking next to the others, he reached over and nudged Hap on the shoulder. "Come on brother," Hammer said as he nudged Happy again. He could hear the back doors open and close and knew that Addison and Stone had already gotten out. Glancing over to his brother who was grumbling and fighting through the sleep, Hammer could help but tease him. "Fine stay in the car and sleep, more pussy for me."

That got the response Hammer was looking for. Happy's eyes flew open and he had his hand on the door handle in record time. However, his leg slowed him down as he gingerly got out of the car. No matter what was going though the killer's mind, he would never turn down a good fuck. And with his leg injury, he was guaranteed plenty of attention.

Getting out of the car himself, Hammer stretched and looked over, chuckling at what he saw. Three cute busty blondes had been swooning over Cooler until they saw Happy limping out of the Tahoe. Hammer could still hear the click-clacking of their heels as they literally ran over to Happy. Although Happy's stab wound probably trumped Cooler's busted ribs, the man didn't need an injury to take his brother's girls.

Hammer had known Happy for a while, worked a few jobs with him. And it didn't matter if they were at a clubhouse, a bar, or anywhere, if there were chicks around, they would flock to Happy, always. The man was like a damn magnet when it came to women.

As the three blondes made it over to Happy at breakneck speed, Hammer heard Cooler call after them, "Oh come on!" Hammer snorted, knowing it was a lost cause. Tacoma was Happy's home charter until recently. These sweetbutts probably couldn't wait to get him back. Apparently Cooler knew it too as he shrugged and headed into the clubhouse. Hammer watched as Happy allowed the three blondes help him into the clubhouse, a wide smirk on his face as they passed him.

Hammer was secretly happy about this. He and Cooler had a standing bet. Cooler hadn't been a Son for very long and although he was pretty good with the ladies, he never got the attention of two at the same time. Hammer wasn't even sure he remembered what the bet was, they had so many bets, but he damn well didn't want Cooler to win.

Looking around he saw that almost all his brothers were making their way into the main den of the clubhouse. He saw Addison pass him, keeping her distance behind Happy and the three blondes. Her head was down and she walked briskly . He looked around and noticed he was one of the last Sons to go into the clubhouse.

As he entered the clubhouse, he headed straight over to the bar and sat down on a stool next to Addison. Half-Sack had found his place behind the bar, working on getting everyone drinks. The Tacoma Prospect was also working on making sure everyone got what they needed.

Looking over to the young woman beside him, he saw Addison cupping her hands around a bottle of water with her head down.

_** SoA**_

Addison couldn't bring herself to look up from the cold bottle in her hands. When they had arrived at the safety of the Tacoma clubhouse, she had not been ready for what had been waiting for them. Out in front of the clubhouse was a crowd of women, dressed in scraps of clothing that covered very little of their bodies. She knew that they weren't in Alaska anymore, but it was still cold outside and she found it hard to believe that these women would willingly wear such revealing clothing.

Once she had gotten out of the vehicle, she saw Happy get out as well and was about to help him walk over to the clubhouse when three very busty blondes came out of nowhere and practically glued themselves to him. She swore she heard one of them say, _"Come on killah, we'll take care of you, promise."_ Addison was pretty sure they didn't mean that they would change his bandages.

Then she looked around and saw at least one, if not two, women wrapped around a Son. They ranged in age from much older to a few who looked younger than her. Some were very well endowed, and most of them wore very high stiletto heels. Addison wondered how some of them even stayed upright?

Addison wasn't completely naive. The way these women were acting left very little to the imagination as what they were willing to offer. Addison felt out of place, she felt like she was seeing things that she shouldn't have, like an intruder. Keeping her head and eyes down, she had walked into the clubhouse.

As she walked in, she saw the three busty blondes walk down the hallway with Happy, into a room. She really didn't want to think about how they were going to 'take care' of him. She didn't see Clay and Gemma, so she assumed they were in a room as well. And apparently most of the other Sons decided to stay in the main room with their _lady_ friends.

She saw Half-Sack at the bar and asked if there was anything that she could do to help. She felt that she needed to do something to keep herself busy, keep herself from thinking about what was going on around her. As much as she would have loved to ask someone who those girls were, she didn't want to be laughed at. She felt this was something she should already know. He told her to sit down and relax. Then he came over and placed a bottle of cold water in front her and gave her a kind smile.

So here she was, sitting down on a bar-stool, holding a cold bottle of water, trying to keep her eyes and ears closed to what was going on around her.

"How you holdin' up?" Addison glanced over to see Hammer sitting down beside her.

She tried to smile and tell him that she was okay. However as she turned to look up, she looked past Hammer's shoulders and saw Cooler sitting on a sofa in the corner with a girl next to him massaging his neck and one between his legs, on her knees. Her hands were stroking his thighs. Her head was bobbing up and down.

She could feel the heat of embarrassment rise to her face and knew that the man next to her would see it. So she immediately turned to look back down at her bottle of water, hoping that Hammer did not see the flush that covered her cheeks. She felt Hammer turn to see what had turned her into a tomato. Then she heard his reaction.

"Damn, he did it, got two at the same time. Must be the busted ribs, the little shit." Then she felt him turn back and ask in a casual voice, "What, never seen a man get a blowjob before?"

If possible, Addison turned redder and clutched the bottle of water as her knuckles turned white. She didn't even know how to respond to that. Of course she had never _seen_ a man get a blowjob!

"Shit," he said. "You haven't." It was the shock in his voice that made her look over to him. His eyes were wide as his drink was poised at his lips.

She tried to play it off, finding her voice in her suddenly dry throat, "Never really been in a clubhouse."

"Damn." Hammer said while downing the amber drink. "Well here, I'll give you a crash course."

"Those girls," Hammer started as he swung on his stool and pointed to several girls who were dressed in very tight and skimpy clothes sitting with or standing next to various Sons, "hang around the club and keep us company. Most of us call them sweetbutts or passarounds."

"Sweetbutts?" Addison asked, the name alone should have told her, but she found it hard to think that someone would want to be called a 'sweetbutt'. She didn't even want to think about 'passaround'.

"Yeah, they bring us drinks, give us back rubs, help us relax." Hammer answered with a bit of a smirk as he wiggled his eyebrows are her. Addison's mind conjured up all kinds of images that caused her to turn red again.

Addison couldn't help but be curious. She had wanted to ask 'why' but her throat had gone dry again and she just couldn't form the words. The look on her face must have given away her silent question, because Hammer continued his 'explanation'.

"They hang around the clubhouse, attend our parties, feel like they are part of the club. And all they have to do is make sure us brothers stay happy. The shit we do…," Hammer trailed off and then continued, "They take care of us and we take care of them."

She couldn't stop herself, she wanted to know more. Questions flooded into her mind. How did they pick? Did they have assigned 'sweetbutts' or was it more like 'first come, first serve'? She was thankful that Hammer seemed to catch onto her inner thoughts so she wasn't forced to voice her questions out loud.

Hammer continued as he pointed to a redhead wearing a pair of very tight skinny jeans handing Jax and Opie beers while they stood around the pool table, "Jax and Opie are second generation, so they get treated like royalty, anything they want they get. Of course if Gemma weren't here, Clay would get first pick, any girl he wanted. He is a 'First 9' and the National President so he is basically a fucking god in this world." Hammer took another drink, and Addison was trying to take everything in.

"But Clay is married," She spoke up. Not understanding how a married man would have the choice at picking someone to 'hang around him' and 'do things for him'.

"What happens on a run, stays on a run." He said with a smile, not telling her any more on the subject and moving along with his 'crash course' lesson.

"Then you have brothers like Tig, Koz, and Happy. Things they do for the club, keeps the club safe. They are almost always in 'high demand'." Hammer finished with another smirk.

Addison couldn't believe it. She wasn't stupid. She knew that men had urges and needs, but she never thought that so many women would freely give themselves up to make someone happy just to feel like they are part of a motorcycle club. Was this what was going to be expected of her? Would she have to make sure that she kept them 'happy', in order to stay with the club? She knew that she was going to have to pull her own weight, but she didn't know if she could do this.

"Excuse me." She said as she got up and made her way to the door. She needed some air.

Once outside she took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. Now she understood why her father had kept her away from the clubhouses. She had always asked why they had never been to any group gatherings, and all he would say was they were never anything special. Had her father ever taken a sweetbutt to bed? Had he kept her away so that she wouldn't see him do that?

Spotting the same bench from before, she walked over and sat down. She folded her arms, laid her head down, and took a deep breath. This was too much to take in.

After a few minutes, she heard the clubhouse door open and footsteps approach. Figuring it was Hammer or Half-Sack, she didn't look up. She was not prepared for the soft female voice that reached her ears. "You okay dear? Did Hammer stick that giant foot of his in his mouth again?" There was a touch of amusement in her voice.

Addison looked up to see an older lady smile at her. She was probably in her early fifties with soft wavy blonde hair down to about her shoulders and light bluish-grey eyes. "Addison right? I'm Elli, Bear's old lady." She introduced herself. "Didn't get a chance to talk to you much last time you were here. What with you fainting on Koz and all." She added with a soft smile.

Addison vaguely remembered her, blushing when she brought up the fainting episode. "Hi, yes, sorry about that. It kind of just happened."

"You know, I've seen many girls fall all over Koz. Never seen one actually faint on him before. Must be those damn baby blues of his." She said in the same amused tone as earlier. When she noticed Addison wasn't smiling, she walked closer and tilted her head. "Speaking of girls, I take it that's what caused you to run out here?"

Addison's eyes widened, "Oh no, uh, I just needed some air."

"It's okay dear." She waved it off sat down next to Addison. "I saw you run out and Hammer said he was giving you a 'crash course' on club life. He means well, but well…he's Hammer." Elli said as she rolled her eyes. "I'm guessing your dad never told you about this aspect of the club?"

"No, at least not in this detail." Addison turned to face Elli, "Dad never took me to a clubhouse before. I spent barely a day in Charming and barely a night here." Addison turned back to look down at the table. "I never knew…"

"Hey, it's okay. Those girls in there, they're my girls." That caused Addison to turn around again.

"Your girls?" Addison asked as her eyes widened.

"Bear's responsibility is the club and the boys. My responsibility is the girls – the old ladies, sweetbutts, passarounds." Elli responded as she turned to face Addison.

"Hammer said they do it so they can stay at the club?" Addison asked incredulously.

Turning to face Addison, Elli propped an elbow on the table, "I guess you could say that. Most of them don't have much else. No families, no one else that cares. They come to club looking for somewhere to belong or for safety. The club provides both." Elli answered. "It's home to most of these girls."

"And they just have sex with whomever? Just to have somewhere to stay?" Addison wasn't sure if she actually wanted to hear the answer to this.

"Listen, what these guys do, for the club, most people couldn't handle it. There are only two things that help these guys keep it under control - booze and women." Elli continued to give her a warm smile, but also had a firm look in her eyes.

"The girls are part of the club family. They take care of the boys in the club; the club takes care of them. But we are still a MC, and like any organization with a hierarchy, each member of this organization has a different status." Elli continued to explain.

"In Tacoma, Bear is the top dog. I'm his old lady, so I guess I'm top bitch." She added with a proud smile as she put her hand over her chest. "Then it works its way down." Elli made a downward sweeping motion with her hand. "Unfortunately these girls are pretty low on the hierarchy. Each of them is hoping to find a Son that will make her his old lady. That gives her security and status. Some get lucky. Most do not. It is the way the club, the family, works. Each family member has a position and serves a purpose."

Addison was listening to Elli, giving her an attentive look.

"As long as a girl doesn't find herself in the wrong bed, her mouth on the wrong dick, or piss off the wrong Son, it all works." Elli said with a wave of her hand.

"If she does, she finds her ass on the street, or worse." Then Elli added with a smirk, "There's a reason why I'm top bitch."

"Is that…am I expected to do that…for the guys?" Addison asked in a small voice. As much as she didn't want to ask the question, she needed to know the answer. She needed to know what was going to be asked of her.

Elli put her hand on Addison's shoulder. "Hey look at me. You are nothing like those girls. They came looking for a place to belong. You were born into the club. Your dad is the Nomad President. Your uncle is the National President. You are second generation Sons of Anarchy, just like Jax and Opie. You may never wear a cut with the Reaper, but you're blood. That's your status, your rank. That earns you automatic respect.

"Was. My dad was the Nomad President." Addison said as she looked down. She knew that at some point someone else would take her father's position. She knew deep down that she couldn't hold on to that forever.

Elli squeezed her shoulder, "I'm sorry for what you lost. I know this is very hard for you right now. Your dad may be gone, but that doesn't change who he was, who you are. And you do not let any of those bitches forget that. You need to know it and own it. You think the boys in there would take a bullet or get stabbed for one of them?"

"Wouldn't they? Didn't you say they're part of the club family?" Addison asked with a touch of confusion in her voice.

Elli removed her hand from Addison's shoulder and responded with another wave of the hand. "Oh, sure if one of the girls gets in trouble, the club will protect her. And yes, one of the Sons may get hurt. This is the life. They know that. They'd do it for the club." Then she and looked Addison in the eyes while she pointed to the clubhouse.

"But what those boys did for you? Twelve Sons spent days on the road to drive up to Alaska, having no idea what was up there." Elli sat up straight again, "I understand even more Sons met you up there?"

Addison nodded, "I think they were from Anchorage and Canada?"

Elli crossed her arms and tilted her head. "So members of four charters, five if you count the Nomad charter, went all the way to your house in Alaska and knowingly walked into whatever danger was waiting for you guys?"

Again, Addison nodded.

Elli uncrossed her arms and lifted Addison's chin with her index finger, "That, my dear, is what separates you from those girls in there. Almost none of those men even know you. That is what your dad's status earned you. That is what Clay's status earned you. That is why you get respect."

"You were born into this world." Elli continued. "I commend your dad for keeping you out of it this long, but it's time you learned how to live in this world. Otherwise, it will eat you alive." Elli's voice was stern, but she gave Addison a soft smile. "I'll give you some time to take this in. Come find me later so I can show you to your room."

Elli got up to leave and then placed her hand on Addison's shoulder again and looked down, "And if you ever need to talk, woman to woman, let me know." Then she walked away.

Addison realized she was in a new world now.

Her dad was dead.

The world she knew was gone.

She had left the only true home she's ever known her whole life, possibly never to return. She thought she'd be on her own if her dad ever died, but she was wrong. She had the whole club now. She was the club's responsibility, but more importantly, the club was her responsibility.

She may not have grown up in the club, but Elli was right, she needed to live in it now. She needed to learn not just how to survive, but to thrive in the club. She was related by blood to two club Presidents. She had almost an entire club full of men willing to get hurt or even die to keep her safe. They wanted to do right by her, for her dad. She needed to do right by them. It really was time to get serious.

_**Authors Notes:**_ Okay, so there you go. A little more Happy in this chapter, and he got some love'n and Addison got a crash course in club life. We would love to hear what you all think about the story, and hope that you enjoyed reading it.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note:** The last chapter received some mixed reviews and we realized that we may have been too subtle with some key points regarding Addison's upbringing. So we decided to take a break from the action to bring you this chapter that really digs into Addison's character and background. We hope this clears up some of the confusion.

As always we thank every one of you who have been reading and been reviewing this story. We love to know what you all think and in telling us your thoughts, you help us make the story better. So please keep up the detailed reviews.

**Shout out to:** FlyGirl2685, HappysHitwoman, Duvet, ShiloCoulter, ThisLife103.7, Baloo18, CtLady, beccalucy, fanficfan4ever, Running-Wlind22, El Chacal, justrae9903, LazySmruf247, Reality-IS-Fiction, flower-machinations, angelbuni, Angel N Darkness, FunnyMick, HapsOldLady, Meg Parirrer, suziraye, go4itgirl, pixiesam, Dutch'76, ozlady80, catus, and Eva. Thank you all so much for reviewing the last chapter. We hope that you enjoy this chapter, and can't wait to hear what you think about it.

** Born to Die**

** Chapter THIRTEEN **

** Written By:** DanniMithcell85 and Kaylalong

Looking over to the clock sitting on the nightstand beside the small double bed on which she had tossed and turned all night, Addison saw that it was only five in the morning. As much as she had been thankful for the room and the time alone, she had been left alone with her thoughts. After everything that had happened in the last few days, including the conversations last night, the thoughts in her mind kept her from finding a restful night's sleep.

The moaning and grunting coming from whoever was in the room next to hers didn't help either.

After Elli left, it took Addison a while before she was ready to re-enter the clubhouse again. She needed time to let everything sink in. When she was as ready as she was going to be, she got up from the table and headed for the clubhouse. Pausing at the heavy door, she preparing herself for what she knew she would find on the other side. Once she opened it, she found the inside of the room darker than when she had left and things seemed to have _progressed_.

Chibs and Juice were watching two women, dressed in only their bras and panties, dancing around what looked like a stripper pole. Addison asked herself why a motorcycle club would have a stripper pole in their clubhouse, but really, she could see why. She hadn't seen the pole before, but then again she had been a bit distracted the last time she walked into the clubhouse.

Kozik was on a couch making out with a brunette sitting sideways across his lap. One of his hands had made its way underneath her top, while the other was tangled in her hair.

Another brunette was sitting on a card table, her tiny black dress pulled up almost to her waist. Addison wasn't positive, but a Son who looked like Tig was sitting on the chair in front of her, his head buried between her legs, as his hands held onto the her bare thighs.

Addison saw other Sons that she didn't recognize in relatively the same fashion. Jax and Opie were still playing their game of pool, seemingly unaffected by what was going on around them. At least Cooler and the two women were no longer in the room.

Over by the bar Addison saw Stone talking to Hammer. His face was set, and it was easy to see that Stone was a little angry. Behind him were two women looking a little impatient, but they kept their distance and didn't say anything. As Addison got closer, she heard Stone say to Hammer, "What the hell were you thinking?"

As Addison approached, Stone turned and saw her. His expression softened as he made his way over and said, "Hey, little lady, you doin' okay?"

"As best I can, I guess. Is everything okay?" She asked as she looked over to Hammer, who had a slightly guilty looking expression on his face.

Stone replied, "Yeah, the big dumbass just told me what he said to you earlier, about the shit with Cooler. Sorry, that was totally inappropriate."

Then Stone leaned down to her and said in a soft voice, "Hammer's a good guy, but between you and me I sometimes think his mama dropped him on his head a few too many times when he was a kid." Stone winked at her and continued, "And I told Cooler to take it into a room. Didn't want that shit to scar you for life or somethin'." He said as he shook his head.

Addison remembered what Elli had said. This was the club life. So she took a deep breath and responded, "It's okay." And she tried to give Stone a smile. She hoped it came off okay.

Stone gave her another soft smile and asked, "You need anything?"

Addison shook her head, "Right now, I just want to go to my room and get some rest."

"You go do that. We'll see you tomorrow, a'right?" Stone said and she answered with a nod. Then he turned around and walked back over to Hammer. They both walked off with the two women who had been waiting off to the side.

Addison didn't see Elli anywhere in the room, but saw Half-Sack come out of what looked like the kitchen with a tray of clean glasses. She asked him if he had seen Elli.

"She got pulled away to do something. You ready to get to your room?" He asked as he set the tray of clean glasses down on the bar counter.

"Yeah, it's been a long day." Addison replied.

"C'mon I'll take you. She told me what room you'd be in." He said as he hopped over the counter.

He led her to her room, which was thankfully at the very end of the hallway, far from the main room. Unfortunately as they walked down the hallway, it was hard to miss the giggling and moaning sounds coming from behind the closed doors. Apparently the walls were very thin in the clubhouse.

She kept her eyes on the floor as they walked down the hallway and unfortunately bumped right into Half-Sack when he had stopped in front of her door. She apologized to him, but couldn't help but smile a little as he turned around to face her with red cheeks. It was easy to see that he was a bit embarrassed himself by the sounds coming from inside the rooms.

Once he led her inside, he told her that he would bring her bag from the car and get her something to eat. She was about to offer to get the bag herself, but she really didn't want to go back outside again. It wasn't just because of what was going on in the main room, but this was the first time in days that she was alone, and she wanted to enjoy the quiet for a little bit.

He returned about twenty minutes later with her bag, a huge plate of food, and some water. He set everything down for her and was about to leave when she asked impulsively, "Hey, why don't you join me. You must be hungry."

"Oh, um, are you sure?" He asked with one hand on the doorknob and the other rubbing the back of his head.

Addison thought to herself, was she sure? Just twenty minutes ago she wanted to be alone. But then she looked at the plate of food and the kind look he was giving her and nodded, "Yeah, I'm sure. Go on, go get another plate."

For the past week, it seemed like everyone was giving her sad looks. Even if they were smiling, there was always a hint of sadness to the smiles. The loss of her dad was tragic, and now with the club in danger, things would be very tumultuous for a while. But for a few selfish moments, she just wanted to feel better, to feel normal. Being with Half-Sack did that. And he had said that he was her friend. She could really use a friend right now.

He left to get some utensils and returned a few minutes later with another plate of food, and a beer. They ate together and talked. He told her a lot about himself, including his real name, which was Kip. With everything that had been going on, she never made the connection as to why everyone called him 'Half-Sack' or 'Sack'. When he told her, she decided that it was just a little gross for her and she liked Kip much better. She asked if she could call him by his real name, he gave her a warm smile and said of course.

After they finished, he cleared away the dirty dishes and told her goodnight. She took a shower and sank into the soft bed; however the blissful sleep she was craving never came. Not only were her thoughts a complete jumble, but after she went to bed, she heard the door to the room next to hers open. The she heard voices, which soon turned into moans, which got louder and more frequent as the night wore on. Add that to the thumping of the headboard against the wall, and there was no chance she would be getting any sleep.

Looking back over to the clock, she saw that only ten minutes had passed. She couldn't bring herself to get out of bed, so she just laid there and decided to focus on the jumbled thoughts that plagued her all night long, to try and bring order to her mind.

She had grown up knowing her dad was part of an outlaw motorcycle club. As she got older and understood more, she learned what he truly did. He may have had a senior rank, but he never thought himself above his other brothers. He had told her once, that he never asked his men to do something that he wasn't willing to do himself.

He taught her how to handle a gun. He gave her self defense and hand to hand combat lessons. Over the years she learned how to patch up his different wounds. She knew more than most when it came to the body and what it could handle. She had read a number of first aid books in order to be prepared. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she had been scared when her dad had come home with the knife wound in his back. She was young, but even she knew that the next time it could be something much worse.

She helped repair and maintain his bike since she was a little girl. She could take it apart, clean everything and then reassemble it perfectly. Not only could she maintain it, but she knew how to recognize a problem just by the sound the motorcycle made. When she had turned sixteen, in addition to learning how to drive a car like other teenagers, she also learned how to ride her dad's bike. He hadn't liked the idea of her riding, but knew that she needed to know how to handle the beast of a machine.

She knew how to travel on the back roads and to stay off the grid. She knew how to spot an undercover police car and how to predict if there would a roadblock. She knew how to hide things on herself or in her dad's bike. She knew things a normal woman her age would never think she needed to know.

It wasn't uncommon for club members to have other jobs, ways to make money outside the club. However, it was hard to obtain legal means of employment with what her dad did for the club, and with them on the road all the time.

So, they took what they could get. She never knew how her dad got each 'job', but she did know that every once in a while her dad would get a call to 'deliver' something. Each delivery was different. A couple of times they had to get their hands on a car if the 'item' being delivered was too large to be carried on their bodies or stored away in her dad's bike. When she was old enough to drive, her dad would let her drive the car, and he would follow behind on his Harley. Most the time it was boring, just sitting in a car driving across state line after state line. She would drive with the windows down, missing the feeling of being on her dad's bike, and the feeling of freedom that went with it.

She never knew how much they were paid, but she knew that they never went without. Around the same time, her dad gave her first debit card, telling her it was easier to carry than cash.

Because of the way they lived, she was used to traveling light. She didn't need much, just her laptop, one change of clothes, and her 'female' items. She never understood why some women traveled with or even owned so many 'things'. Really, what was with all the shoes? She never understood that, but then again she didn't grow up around other girls, or women at all.

Her mother had died when she was very young. And traveling the way they did, she did not have any friends, nor could she attend school. Her dad had raised and schooled her. She also read a lot of books.

He told her all the rules of the club. She knew that her dad was passionate about the club, and she was honored that he trusted her enough to tell her things about the MC. But now she couldn't help but feel like there were some things that he had left out on purpose.

She had never thought much on why they never visited a clubhouse. She knew the Sons of Anarchy had charters all over the country. And when she asked, he always brushed it aside and told her that it wasn't anything special.

Thinking back to what she had witnessed last night, she realized that he had kept the truth from her. She was torn. Did he keep her away to protect her or to protect himself? Did he not want her to know what he did at the clubhouses?

She had always seen her dad as a giving man; he had done so much for her. He did everything in his power to make her happy. Did he keep this little secret so that he could have something of his own? Did he think that she would look at him differently if she knew about the sweetbutts? The questions were running in her mind at a rapid pace, and she didn't know how to make them stop.

Addison wasn't a complete idiot when it came to sex. She was just inexperienced. She was a virgin, never had a boyfriend, never been kissed. She had learned about the birds and the bees on television when she was about eleven, and she had told her dad in so many words when he came home one night. She could still remember the shocked expression on his face when she announced, 'I know what sex is,' in a proud little voice.

It wasn't until she was in her teens when she began to feel the change in her body. She would be lying to herself if she didn't admit that she had taken the time to 'get to know her body' while her dad was gone. Rolling over and curling into the sheets more, she couldn't help but feel the heat rise to her cheeks at the thought. Part of her felt embarrassed at what she did, but she also understood that it was very natural.

Sure there were times that she would see couples together in public and wish for the chance to go on a date, to have the feeling of a pair of strong arms wrapped around her, to know what a real kiss felt like. But the fact was with the way her life was, there was never time. Her dad came first, and she knew that she had to be there for him.

In fact, she had been arguing with him just a few weeks ago about not being able to meet other members of the club. She thought that she had put up a good fight. She pointed out that he wasn't making any sense. He always told her never to trust anyone who wasn't a Son, but he never introduced her to any, except Clay. That was only once and it was not in a clubhouse.

They had been traveling through Northern California and met up with Gemma and Clay in San Francisco. Neither her dad, nor Clay, wore their cuts. She couldn't help but feel that there was more to this than just her dad wanting to keep her safe, but she would never have the chance to ask him now.

Part of her had been excited when they pulled into the parking lot last night. Charming was the first clubhouse she had ever been in, but she had been there for barely a day and was in too much shock to even let it register.

And the first time she came to Tacoma, she was here for only one night. After all she had been through, she was looking forward to focus on something else for a little while. This would be her first real visit to a clubhouse. But, when she got out of the car and saw all those women practically throw themselves as the Sons, she was a little shocked and slightly confused.

She knew about sex. She was exposed to television, movies, books, and the internet. It was impossible not to know. But knowing about it and seeing it up close and personal were two different things. She thought sex was something that should occur in private, behind closed doors, not done in the open like that. Although no one was actually having sex in front of her, what she had seen was way beyond 'public displays of affection'.

When she first entered the clubhouse, nothing provocative had happened yet, but from the way the women were fawning all over the Sons, Addison could guess how it would _progress_. So, she decided to try and ignore it. She certainly didn't think it would be nice to stare, not that she wanted to.

But then seeing Cooler with the two women and Hammer's casual reaction to it was like having a bucket of cold water dumped all over her. She was definitely shocked. This was completely normal to them. These people were her family now and this was normal. She wasn't really sure what to think about that.

She was relieved to find out that she was not expected to act like a sweetbutt, that her 'role' in the club was different. If she was going to be part of this club, she was going to have to accept this was part of the life. Her conversation with Elli was an eye opener. She knew about the club and what they did. She knew what her dad did and why he did it. But she didn't really know about how the club itself worked, how the family worked.

Part of her appreciated Elli's bluntness, but another part of her was terrified. How would she fit into the club? What was expected of her? She had never been around so many people for such a long period of time before. She was starting to feel claustrophobic again. Gemma had said before they left Charming, that they would help her find an apartment. But with the psycho hunters after them, she wasn't sure what would happen now.

The more and more she thought on it, the more her head hurt. She could only handle one thing at a time, and right now she needed to focus on the danger that threatened the club. Her dad gave his life to protect her. She could not let him die in vain. She would mourn for him, then, she needed to be strong, to help the club, to move on and live her life. He would want her to be happy.

She would do what she did best. She would try to take care of her new family, the way she took care of her dad. Adjustments would have to be made along the way and she was sure she had a lot to learn. This was her family now. Even if she wasn't ready to do this, she had to at least try. The club was the only family she had left now.

** Authors Notes:** Okay there you have it. We hope this clears up a little bit of confusion that some of you may have had. You also got to see a bit more of what has been running through Addison's head. She knows that there is a long road ahead of her, and that she has a lot of learning to do.

Please don't forget to review and let us know what you thought of this chapter. We are working on the next one already and should have it up within the week.


	14. Chapter 14

_** Author's Notes:**_ The last chapter received mixed reviews. We just wanted our readers to know that there was a purpose to that chapter. We wanted our Addison character understood and we laid the groundwork for several events coming up later in the story. Thank you all for reading and we are moving on with the story.

Thank you to all those who have taken the time to tell us your thoughts, in detail, about the story and and we hope that you all enjoy this chapter.

_**A shout out to:**_fanficfan4ever, pixiesam, angelbuni, HappysHitwomen, Angel N Darkness, a reader, Just A Reader, Goddess of the Black Rose, go4itgirl, Twuglove, Meg Pairrer, CtLady, Dutch'76, Duvet, Skipperlee, Funny Mick, Eva, ozlady80, Justrae9903, The Candy Spooky Theater, FlyGirl2684, and cambridgegirl16 . We are so thankful that you all have been reviewing the chapters, and we can't wait to hear what you think about the new chapter.

** Born to Die**

** Chapter FOURTEEN**

** Written by:** Dannimitchell85 and Kaylalong

Sitting in the corner of the Tacoma chapel, Happy watched as Clay and Bear were both standing and stared down at the leather cut lying on top of the reaper carved wooden table. No one broke the silence. It was clear to him that both men were fighting with their inner emotions at seeing the cut, lying empty on the table, instead of on the man who had worn it for over thirty years.

Adjusting his sore leg, Happy was grateful that Clay had waited until the morning to hold church. They were all too exhausted and emotionally drained when they returned last night. They definitely needed to 'unwind' first. And as much as he didn't want to leave his warm bed, he knew that he couldn't miss this meeting. His brothers would have told him to stay in bed and 'rest' but he wasn't about to take a back seat now. One of those fuckers stabbed him. He had actually talked to one of the brothers, heard his voice. This was more important than resting in bed.

As Happy looked at Quinn's cut still lying on table, he couldn't help but remember back to three days ago, when they had buried his body.

_ Leaning against a tree, Happy watched as Stone, Hammer, and the others finished digging Quinn's grave. They had wrapped his body in his childhood blanket and he watched as Addison tucked a picture of her mother into the blanket and kissed his forehead through the blanket. _

_ He watched as she walked over to Half-Sack, who wrapped his arms around her while she tucked her head into his shoulder. Juice had come over to her other side and placed his hand on her shoulder. He was behind the trio so he couldn't see her face but he could tell from her tense posture that she was trying her best to not cry. _

_Here they were, in Alaska being hunted by some crazy fucker, who had tortured and killed her father, and wanted her as some 'prize'. She had to be both devastated and terrified, but he could tell she was doing her best to hold it together. She certainly was Quinn's daughter. Like her father, she knew when she needed to appear strong, to hold in the pain and fear that she was probably feeling. Quinn had always said it was smart to be afraid. It was stupid to show it. _

_ As they lowered Quinn's body into the grave and started to fill it, Happy thought about his sick mother, the only woman in his life that he ever truly cared about. He hadn't been the most ideal son, but she never turned him away and always told him that she loved him. She was the only one who understood him and never judged him for what he did for the club. She was always there for him no matter what._

_ She had been sick for almost a year now. About six months ago he joined the Nomad charter so he could be closer and take care of her. He watched as her health steadily declined. She had been such a vibrant and strong woman. But in the last six months, she literally seemed to wither away before his eyes. Standing here, at the burial of a man who was more of a father to Happy than his actual father ever was, he couldn't help but think that sometime in the near future he would have to bury his mother. _

_ That thought scared him more than he would like to admit. Just the idea that he would never hear her voice again, never see her smile again, sent shivers up his spine. But these were not appropriate thoughts right now. He would have plenty of time to dwell on this later. _

_ Happy pulled his eyes away from Addison to look over at Hammer. They had just finished filling up the grave. He made a silent promise to Quinn that he would do everything in his power to avenge his death. He would somehow make this right, for Quinn, for his daughter. He hoped Stone and Hammer found out something from their 'talk' with the guy who grabbed Addison. This crazy fucker will be taught a lesson, __and he__ would make sure that he was the one to teach it. You do not mess with the Sons. _

Pulling himself out of his thoughts he focused his attention back on the here and now. He couldn't afford to miss anything. Looking around the room, he saw that Clay had taken a seat at one end of the table; Quinn's cut was now in front of him on the table. Jax sat to his left, with Juice on his other side. Tig took his place to Clay's right. Bear, Kozik and Lorca, the Tacoma VP, sat at the other end. The other Tacoma Sons filled the rest of the table. Stone, Hammer, Opie, and Chibs, were spread out against the walls of room. Cooler had taken another chair that at the opposite corner from Happy.

No one spoke. The only noise in an otherwise silent room was the clicking sounds coming from Juice's laptop.

"Found him," Juice said, looking up.

Happy had to give the younger member credit, he may be a goofball most of the time, but he knew how to dig up information on anyone. After they left Alaska, Stone had filled in the other Sons on what he and Hammer found out from their 'talk'. Now they knew they were dealing with two fucked up brothers and the asshole that stabbed him was _recruited_.

"What does it say?" Clay asked, exhaling a large drag of his cigar.

"Erik Patterson, thirty eight years old, lives in Foley Alabama, two kids, divorced. Got hunting licenses every year for everything you can think of, in several states. He was charged with two counts of aggravated assault, one count of domestic violence, and one count of child endangerment." Juice continued to read from his screen, "His ex-wife was the one to press the charges, but there wasn't any hard proof so the charges were dropped. She filed for divorce and then left. She got full custody of the kids too."

"So he had a violent history," Jax stated.

"Yeah," Juice confirmed then leaned back into his chair.

"The psycho bastards are pulling in other sick puppies to play their little game." Stone said as he shifted against the wall, closest to the door.

"This is bad," Jax said as he wiped his hand over his face. "It's one thing to have two sick, fucked up brothers hunting us down for sport, but now they are bringing in other sick fuckers into the mix. This isn't going to end well."

"What do we know?" Bear asked, speaking up for the first time. Happy knew that he was trying to get all the facts out on the table. They all needed to know what they were up against. This involved the entire club.

"They went after Quinn first. They knew to wait for him to return to Alaska. Addison heard the fucker say he had been tracking Quinn and the club for three years. Who knows what he's found out during that time." Tig said.

"They somehow got it in their brains that Addison is the 'prize'. Patterson said the brothers wanted to keep her 'pure'". Stone added with anger in his voice.

"They knew we were coming. They were waiting for us." Opie said.

"Why Quinn? Why Addison? Why us? Why any of this?" Jax asked as he leaned over the table.

"For the thrill," Happy spoke up from his corner. He knew better than anyone that there was a certain thrill to the hunt, knowing that you held the power in your hands to let someone live or to take it away as you see fit. The difference between him and these two brothers was that he tracked his prey and killed for the club. These two bastards where hunting for the fun of it, for sport.

"Hunt the hunter." Kozik said, nodding his head.

"Shit they are after us because we've killed people?" Tig said.

"No, not because we've killed people. The Sons control most of the towns where we have charters. We are a threat." Hammer spoke for the first time. Then he looked at Kozik, "It's not hunt the hunter. It's catch the biggest game."

"Yeah, and they know we won't go running to the cops." Cooler chimed in. "Don't want to spoil their _fun_." He said as he grimaced from the pain in his ribs.

"I dunno," Stone said from his wall. "I hate to say this brothers, but with what that sick puppy Patterson said about Addison, I think this is all about her and we're just in the way. They want to see how many of us they can take out to get to her. This is all a game to them."

"Yeah well they fucked up by putting my niece in the middle of all this shit." Clay said in a forceful tone, as he pointed to the other Sons in the room. "They already got one of my brothers. I'm not going to just stand around and wait for them to come and take down more."

"Last time they got us by surprise, something that ain't goin' to happen again." Tig said. Happy could see that Tig was trying to reassure Clay.

"Aye, we know what they're after now. They want a game? They'll get a _bloody_ game." Chibs added as he narrowed his eyes and frowned.

Stone nodded, "We walked into their trap. We were playing on their terms. We need to turn the tables on them. Go on the offensive." Then he added, "all the while keeping Addison safe."

Happy watched as Clay looked back over to Juice. "Anything on the two brothers?"

Exhaling a deep breath, Juice shook his head. "Not yet. I've been looking up every 'Jager' I can, but it's going to take time. There are almost four thousand 'Jagers' in the US. I've narrowed down the search to exclude all women and anyone under the age of eighteen."

Stone interjected, "Good, from what Addison saw and what Patterson told us, these guys sound like grown men. Probably in their late thirties to forties."

"They're experts. Assholes know what they are doing." Happy added. He had talked to one of them. He could tell from the short conversation that these men weren't some young punks out looking to have a good time. They took this seriously.

"Thanks, maybe I can exclude any males under twenty-five also." Juice said, as he sat back up to his laptop and starting typing. "But, I still have to look into each and every one and see if there is a match to what we know. I should have something more by the end of the week."

"So what's the plan?" Bear asked, looking to Clay.

"We go home and have a memorial for Quinn. He didn't get a proper burial, but he sure as hell is getting a memorial." Clay said as he took another drag on his cigar. "Then we hunt these fuckers down and watch them die a slow and horrible death."

"Oh yes we will." Happy said with a sneer on his face and a promise in his voice. When they found these two, he was going to enjoy every bit of pain he would inflict on them.

Happy watched as Clay pulled out his knife from its sheath and after a moment of hesitation, got up, leaned over and sliced the 'President' patch off of Quinn's vest. He knew that the time would come to pick another Nomad president. And he had hoped that Clay would ask Stone to take the position.

The Nomad charter was set up differently than the other charters. Happy had been in the Tacoma charter before joining the Nomads, and he knew that allthe charters had a President, Vice President, Sgt-at-Arms, and Secretary. However because of what the Nomads did for the club, it was hard to keep a chain of command. He had learned that the role of Nomad President entailed more then what a normal charter President did. Quinn had to play all the roles. He had final say in everything, and he made sure to send the Nomads to where they were needed.

If Quinn hadn't been killed, he would have been able to choose his next in line. However since he was, it was left up to Clay to pick a Son to take over. Happy knew that Clay would only choose someone who held the respect of the other members.

In his eyes there weren't many men who could handle the responsibility of leading this pack of lone wolves. But Stone was a man who held everyone's respect. He was former military, had been a Nomad for ten years, and used his brain more than his gun or fists. Along with Clay and Quinn, Happy respected and trusted Stone. He knew Stone would take this role seriously and put the club first.

Happy watched, along with everyone else in the room, as Clay straighten back up and put his knife back in its sheath. With the patch in hand, he walked over to Stone, took his hand, and placed the patch in his palm. "I wish this was under different circumstances, but I know you are the right choice. And this is what Quinn would have wanted." Clay said.

Stone closed his hand over the President patch and nodded at Clay. "I won't let you down." He then looked at the patch in his hand. "I won't let him down." He then looked back up. "I won't let the club down. Thank you."

Clay turned around and looked to the other Nomads in the room. Happy nodded at Clay and saw the other Nomads do the same. Then he saw Clay turn back around and put a hand on Stone's shoulder and said, "I know you won't."

Bear then banged the gavel and got up. One by one, each member walked over to Stone and patted him on the shoulder, or shook his hand. It was hard to celebrate his new role in the club with the loss of Quinn still so fresh on everyone's minds.

Waiting for the others to clear out of the room, Happy pulled himself up off the chair and walked slowly over to Stone. He reached out with his right hand and shook his new President's hand while giving him a firm nod, "You deserve it brother." He said in a rough voice.

Stone responded with his own firm handshake and nod.

Walking out of the church room carefully, Happy took a seat at the bar, and told the Tacoma prospect to get him a shot.

_**SOA**_

Knowing that it was too late to try and get any sleep, the clock beside Addison told her it was time to get up. Pushing herself off the bed, she headed to the bathroom for a quick morning shower. Once she was clean and fresh, she put on a pair of low waist faded boot cut jeans that hugged her curves. Since they were out of the Alaskan snow, she could put away her snow jacket. Instead she put on a white cami and a blue hoodie with the club Reaper on the back. Her dad had given her the hoodie. Once she was dressed, she pulled on her black riding boots, and tied her hair up.

As she packed everything back into her bag, her hand brushed over a small black velvet jewelry bag. Picking it up, she took a deep breath. She pulled the strings open and poured out its contents onto the bed.

She picked up her dad's rings. The familiar weight were was both reassuring and haunting to her. She would never see them on her dad's fingers again. She put the rings back down and stroked the velvet box with her parents' wedding rings. She would need to find a safe place to keep them once they returned to Charming.

Then, off to the side away from the other jewelry was a sliver heart shaped locket. Addison picked it up and touched the locket with her the pad of her index finger. The locket had been a gift that her dad had given to her mother, Lily. It was something she could keep close to her heart while he was away on runs. It had contained two pictures of him

When he gave it to Addison, he replaced the pictures with two of her mother Lily. He also kept a picture of Lily in his wallet. Addison opened up the locket and looked at the two pictures that had been held in the safety of the sliver keepsake for years. On the right was a head shot of her young mother. It was easy to see that they both had the same bright blue eyes and blonde hair. The other photo, on the left side was a bit harder to see due to how far away the picture was taken. It was a full length picture of Lily holding a baby in her arms, swathed in pink blankets. The wide and care free smile on her face was all Addison needed to know that her mother had loved her.

All she knew about her mother had been what her dad had told her. He told her that she had been the one to keep him sane after he came back from some of his jobs. He never really told her how she died. Just that she had when Addison was very young. Addison never pressed the issue. She figured it had to be something very bad. There were nights when she had seen her dad up late, crying over his own picture of the woman who had been taken away at such a young age.

Thinking about her dad now, how vulnerable he seemed during those times, she tried to understand why he kept her away from the clubhouses. A part of her wanted to be mad at him, angry that he had kept things from her. But the other part could understand that he needed to have his own escape. It must have been so hard for him, doing the things for the club, raising a daughter all by himself, and then dealing with the loss of his wife.

Snapping the locket closed, she ran her fingers along the chain to the broken clasp. It had broken a few weeks ago. She had worn the locket every day, only taking it off to shower. Without it hanging around her neck, she felt like she was missing something. They had planned to get it fixed as soon as they got back on the road. But then fate had other plans and her world was turned upside down.

She was thankful that those sick freaks hadn't raided the house. She didn't know what she would do if she had lost the locket. It was the only thing that she had of her mother's, the only reminder of her. As soon as they got back to Charming, she would ask Gemma if there was a jeweler in town who could fix it for her. Once it was fixed, she would take out the picture on right side and replace it with one of her father. Then in the safety of the locket, she would have the family that was taken away from her.

She slipped the locket and rings back into the velvet bag and put everything back into her duffel bag. She took a deep breath and knew that she couldn't hide in the bedroom anymore. She hoped now that it was morning and they were leaving soon, that she would not see any repeat 'performances' of last night.

Opening the door, she poked her head out to peek down the hall. She knew she looked silly, but she couldn't help herself. Not seeing anything, and only hearing a few voices coming from the main clubroom, she told herself that it was safe to come out. Again, she was being silly and berated herself. They were adults. She was an adult. She needed to start acting like one.

Walking into the main room of the clubhouse, she saw that all the men seemed to be up, wearing their cuts, and everything looked 'family friendly'. She saw Half-…, Kip behind the bar, wiping down the counter, while the others were spread out in the room. Clay and Stone where talking quietly in the corner. Jax and Opie where starting up another game of pool. It looked like Hammer was at a table, trying to get Kozik to arm wrestle with him. Tig, Chibs, and a few other Sons whom she didn't recognize, were standing around the table shaking their heads, telling him that it was a bad idea. It looked like Hammer wasn't going to give up though. Juice was at another table, hunched over his laptop, typing away furiousl

Walking over to the bar, she sat on a stool and saw Kip come over to her. "Morning," she greeted him with a smile.

He smiled back and said, "Morning, want some juice? " And before she could even respond, he put a glass of orange juice in front of her.

"Thanks," she said. He nodded at her and walked back into the kitchen.

While sipping her juice, Addison looked around and saw that Happy was down at the other end of the bar. He looked lost in his own thoughts as he stared into the empty shot glass. Surely he hadn't been drinking this early, had he? She wanted to ask how his leg was doing, but she didn't want to bother him. She could tell from the set of jaw and the tenseness of his shoulders that he did not want company. She could only imagine what he was plotting in his head. She pulled her eyes away and looked around the room some more.

Her scan of the room stopped as she saw Cooler sitting in a booth alone. She couldn't help but take note of the deep thoughtful expression on his face as well. She couldn't see what he was looking at, but there was something in his hand and it had all his attention. He was so engrossed with it that he didn't even notice the shouts and hollers coming from the group of Sons over by the table. Apparently Hammer just lost to Kozik. She looked over to see Hammer lay his head flat on the table while Kozik just smirked at him.

Addison looked back over to Cooler. She took a deep breath and blocked out the image of him from last night. Then she hopped off the stool, picked up her drink, and walked over to his booth.

"Hi, would you like some company?" She asked him in a soft voice as stood in front of the booth.

She saw him look up and close his hand around the item in his palm. With a toothy smile, he replied, "Absolutely, slide on in." He waved his hand over to the bench across the table.

Sliding into the booth to sit across from him, she couldn't help but look at his closed hand.

She must have been obvious because he stretched his arm over to her and said, "Hold out your hand."

The serious tone to his voice was not something she was used to hearing. Pulling her right hand away from her glass, she held out her open hand, palm up, and right under his larger closed hand.

He opened his hand and plopped something small and metallic into her waiting hand. She pulled her hand closer to get a better view and saw what looked like a smashed bullet.

"Is this," Her eyes widened as she looked up at Cooler. "Is this the bullet from Alaska?"

"Yeah," He said as she handed it back to him. Digging in his pocket, he pulled out his wallet and opened a small zipper that was meant to hold loose change. Tipping it over, he dumped the contents into his hand. He held out his hand to her and there sitting on his palm were four more bullets of various sizes and in various conditions.

"This was the first." He said as he lifted up a copper colored one. "I was doing a job when I ran into some trouble. Took this one in the leg, Stone had to dig it out with his bowie knife. Still have the damn scar."

He placed it down on the table and lifted a grey colored one. "This one was meant for Hammer, the fucking dumbass. Took it in the shoulder. It stayed there for about two days. We had to get out of the area fast. Managed to stop the bleeding. Finally your dad found us and dug it out of me."

"Why didn't Hammer remove it?" Addison found herself asking.

"That Neanderthal? Hell no! I'm not letting him anywhere near me with a fucking knife." He said as he sat that one down on the table as well and picked up another.

"This one hurt the most." He said as he just looked at it moving it between his thumb and index finger. He didn't say anything and Addison could see that he didn't want to get into the story behind it. And she wasn't about to push him for one. She watched him put it down with the others on the table.

"And this little guy was a pain in my ass." He said holding up what looked like a .22. "And I mean really it was a pain in my ass. Fucking prospect at the Vegas charter was cleaning guns while he was still hung over from the night before. Damn idiot shot me in my ass."

"Oh," Addison said as chuckled softly. She looked at him and covered her mouth while still chuckling.

"It's not funny," Cooler retorted. "I couldn't sit down, couldn't ride my bike, and was cooped up at the fucking clubhouse for two weeks! I couldn't even get laid." He added with a small pout.

He sat that one down and then lifted up the last remaining bullet in his hand. "This is my lucky one. This one would have ended me if not for the vest." He told her as held it at her eye level.

She looked down at the table and said, "Sorry, you got that one trying to protect me." She continued to look at the table. Her hands were underneath pressing again the seat of the bench.

She noticed him lean over the table as much as his busted ribs would allow him and she looked up. "Hey, and I'd do it again. We Sons protect our family." He gave her a smile as and leaned back into the booth.

"That's what Happy said," Addison said as she took a sip of juice.

Cooler smirked, "That brother knows his shit. He's been through some serious crap."

She smiled and looked down at his collection. She couldn't help but admire him a little bit. He seemed more carefree than the other Sons that she had met, but he seemed just as focused and serious when it came to protecting the club. Now she understood just a bit more about what was going on last night. She had been so shocked at the scene in front of her, she didn't think about what they had gone through just to keep her safe. Elli had been right, what these guys did, most people couldn't handle. What happened last night was how they cope. She didn't understand it completely, but she was trying.

She looked back up at him and said in a soft voice. "Let's just hope that you don't add anymore to your 'collection' anytime soon."

With another smile, he put his mementos away and sat back in the booth. They talked for a while longer until she saw Gemma walk over to the booth.

"Hey sweetheart, you packed and ready to go? We're leaving within the hour." Gemma asked.

Addison answered, "Just about. Let me just finish up and get my stuff." Gemma nodded and walked over to where Clay was still sitting.

She turned back around and took the last sip of juice, then looked at Cooler and said, "Excuse me." He nodded and she got up and walked over to the kitchen.

Addison was ready to go back to Charming, but wasn't looking forward to the long drive back in Gemma's SUV. She had never been cooped up in a car with so many other people for such a long period of time. She was itching to be on the open road with the feeling of the wind blowing through her hair.

As she walked over to the kitchen with her empty glass, Kip came up to her with a shy smile and said, "Oh, hey, let me get that. Don't worry about it." He took the glass out of her hand and started to walk away.

"Wait, I can…" She wanted to stop him to tell him she could clean up after herself, but she didn't get the chance because at that moment Clay and Stone walked up to her. They had painful looks in their eyes and she couldn't help the lump that lodged in her throat when she saw Clay holding out her dad's leather cut.

"You should keep this." Clay said with a soft voice. "It belongs with you."

She took the leather cut and couldn't help but run her hands over the soft leather over to the spot where the 'President' patch once was. She had known that someone had to be named the new President. Someone would have to take over for her dad.

Pulling her eyes away from the worn cut, she looked to see Stone had kneeled in front of her on one knee. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he had a caring look in his eyes.

"I promise you, nothing is going to happen to you, and we aren't going to let those bastards get away with this." He said to her. She held back the tears as she nodded and caught sight of the 'President' patch that was freshly sewn on the front of his cut.

Stone squeezed her shoulders, gave her a nod of his own, and then got up and walked away. Addison watched him walk away and then went over to the bar and took a seat on the stool again. She sat there with her dad's cut in her lap, stroking it, lost in her thoughts until she heard someone sit on the stool next to her. Looking over, she saw Elli giving her a sympathetic look.

"You okay, dear?" Elli asked.

Addison nodded, "I'm okay. We both knew this would happen someday. I just didn't…" She couldn't finish as she looked back down to her dad's cut.

"You didn't think it'd be this painful?" Elli asked gently, to which Addison nodded, but didn't look up. "Bear told me this morning that the guys buried his body up in Alaska. I'm so sorry dear, I had no idea. What you must be going through?" Elli paused. Then she said, "He deserved a proper burial."

"It's okay. Clay's going to have a memorial in about a week, after we get back to Charming." Addison said as she looked up at Elli. "He said Bear and other Tacoma members will ride down. Are you coming down too? You knew my dad right?" Addison asked.

Elli smiled, "I did. Not as well as Bear, those two go way back." Elli the cupped Addison's cheek, "I'll be there. And like I said, if ever need someone to talk to, I'm here."

Addison nodded and got up to go finish packing. It was a long ride back to Charming.

_** SOA**_

Once they had eaten and were all packed up and ready to go, everyone walked out into the parking lot. Addison had overhead Clay talk to Cooler and Happy about staying behind to heal up. They agreed and would ride down with Bear and some of the other Tacoma members for the memorial.

Addison had given her bag to Kip. She stood there dressed in her jeans and hoodie with Gemma's Beretta tucked away in the back of her jeans, where it had been for the past three days. As she watched Kip load everything into Gemma's SUV, that feeling of claustrophobia came back. She really wanted the feeling of being on the open road again. It may be winter and still pretty cold riding down I-5 to California, but it wasn't raining the and wind against her face would feel really nice.

She had decided she would just ask one of the Sons if she could ride back with him. The problem was deciding on which one. She had only known them for a week and the ones she felt comfortable around weren't available. Kip and Juice were driving Gemma's SUV. Happy and Cooler were staying behind in Tacoma. And Clay had enough to deal with that she didn't want to bother him.

Then she saw Hammer standing next to his Harley, getting ready to put on his helmet. After yesterday's 'crash course', she wasn't sure how she felt about him, but she was trying to understand all this and he was just being honest. Plus, he had been very nice to her, so she figured he was her best bet.

As she walked up to him, he turned around to look at her and raised an eyebrow in question. "Anythin' I can do for ya?"

She took a breath and looked him in the eyes, which was a little hard to do considering how much taller he was. "I was wondering if I could ride with you?" She asked. She continued to look up at him and could tell he was thinking it over. She hoped he didn't think too long, her neck was starting to hurt. 

Then he looked down her with a smile, showing his white teeth. "Can't ride without a helmet," was all he said.

Addison gave him a huge smile and said, "Hang on." Then she walked over to the SUV and dug into her bag. One of the items she made sure to bring back from Alaska was her helmet. She had worn her dad's helmet when she fled to Charming.

She found it and brought it back, lifting it up for him to see that the problem was solved. "How about now? She asked.

Hammer didn't respond. He just swung a leg over his Harley and gave her a smirk, "What'cha waiting for? Get on."

With another smile, she got on behind him, put her helmet on and locked the buckle in place. That's when she saw Clay walking over to them. He didn't look too pleased.

"What the hell? Addison, what are you doing? Get off that and get into Gemma's Caddy." Clay said in an angry voice.

"Uncle Clay, please. I've been cooped up in a car for a week now. I want to ride back Charming on a bike." Addison said to her uncle with a pleading look in her eyes.

"Absolutely not. With everything going on, you want to get yourself killed?" Addison watched as Clay started to reach for her.

Then from behind Clay she heard someone say, "Clay, hang on." She looked over Clay's shoulder and saw Stone.

"Clay, it's okay, let her ride back with him." Stone said in a calm voice as he approached them. "She'll be fine." Then Stone looked to Hammer with his jaw set and a fierce look in his eyes. Hammer responded with a firm nod.

Clay sighed. He imagined Addison probably needed this. He understood what the feeling of the open road could do. "Fine. But anything happens to her…" Clay pointed to Hammer with his finger.

"No way boss. The girl's safe with me." Hammer replied as he lifted open his cut and showed his gun holster with the two Glocks.

Clay looked to Addison, "And you?" She nodded and patted her lower back. Clay then asked with a small smile, "I suppose I don't need to tell you to how to hang on, huh?"

"Nope," Addison replied as she put her hands on Hammer's waist and hooked her fingers through his belt loops. Since he was so much bigger than her, she couldn't quite wrap her arms around him.

Clay shook his head and walked back to his own bike. "All right everyone, let's move out."

_** SOA**_

Leaning against the picnic table, to take the weight off his injured leg, Happy watched as his brothers all saddled up and revved their engines. He wasn't too pleased with having to stay behind. He wanted nothing more than to hop on his own Harley and ride out, but he knew he had to play it smart. He watched as Addison got on behind Hammer, and noticed she really did know how to ride bitch. Most women either tried to sit too close, which restricted the rider's movements. Or they sat too far back, making it hard to handle the bike. From what he could see, Addison sat in the perfect place.

He was riding down with the others in about a week for Quinn's memorial. After that, they would get onto the business of finding these fuckers and making sure they suffer. As he watched the Harleys leave the lot one by one, he thought about how it wasn't just the club that lost a charter President. They each lost a good friend, a man they all respected.

Sighing and moving away from the table, Happy turned to go back in. He walked gently back to the clubhouse. At the door, he saw one of the blondes that helped him 'relax' yesterday. She turned around and smiled at him. He gave her a nod and she came over. He wrapped his arm around her and gave her a small smile. If he was going to be stuck here with a bum leg, at least he can enjoy himself.

_** Author's Notes:**_ This chapter turned out a lot longer than we thought it would. Just a few bits of information...

1) Nothing is really known about how Nomad charters are run, so we took creative liberty and made it work for the story.

2) In this episode Patch Over, Lorca is mentioned as a member of Tacoma. No position was assigned to him so we have decided to use him as our Tacoma VP.

3) Kenny Johnson, who plays Kozik, was a world class arm wrestler so we thought that it would be fun to throw that fact into the story. We both love the blond SSA, so we had to give him some attentions without taking away from what was really going on in the chapter.

We hope that you all enjoyed the chapter, thank you for reading.


	15. Chapter 15

_**Authors Notes:**_ We apologize for the delay in posting this chapter. There is a lot going on in the next few chapters and we wanted to take our time to make sure everything flowed together perfectly.

_** Thank you again to:**_ HappysHitwoman, suziraye, flower-machination, go4itgirl, Running-Wild22, ozlady80, Wicked in Boston, Anon, CtLady, Funny Mick, Clarissa8, Meg Pairrer, Eva, Angel N Darkness, pixiesam, ThisLife103.7, angelbuni, Dutch'76, fanficfan4ever, lucy, Baloo18, justrae9903, The Candy Spooky Theater, and all those who have added this story to any of your list or alerts. We hope that you all enjoy this new chapter, and we can't wait to hear what you think about it.

A special shout out to _**FlyGirl2684**_. Please check out her homepage to read a very raw and open poem that she wrote, it has to do with a badass biker we all know and love!

**Born to Die**

** Chapter FIFTEEN**

** Written By:** DanniMitchell85 and Kaylalong.

With her eyes closed, Addison savored the feeling of being on the open road again. For a brief moment, she was once again behind her father, enjoying the rumble of his Harley, the wind blowing around her. The feeling of freedom filled her, and she felt like nothing could harm her. She forgot the nightmares that had haunted her for the last week. She wanted to enjoy this ride as much as possible.

In her mind, as long as she kept riding, nothing could touch her.

She came back to reality and she opened her eyes to see that she was riding behind Hammer, not her father. His larger frame blocked most of the oncoming wind, and any bugs that may have made their way to her.

It was a little chilly, now that the sun had set, but that didn't bother her. The hoodie kept her warm and at the last stop, she had pulled her hood up under her helmet to keep the wind from flowing down her back. It was so refreshing to feel the raw power of the mechanical beast under her, that even if she had been cold, she wouldn't have cared. She had ridden though rain and snow with her father, a little cold wind wasn't going to bother her.

With every stop and turn, she learned more about Hammer, about the rider that he was. She didn't know if it was because she was riding bitch, but with every change of direction, he rode and leaned in with the bike as if it was an extension of his self.

The Harley purred, and Addison could tell that Hammer took care of his ride, like the other Sons in front of them. Addison knew that these men cared for their bikes, just like her father had. For each Son, his bike was his baby, possibly even the most important thing in his life.

They stopped a few times to eat and refuel. Each time Hammer would ask her if she wanted to take a break and ride with the others in Gemma's Caddy. At first, she thought he was trying to get rid of her, but when she told him that she was good, he gave her a sincere smile and a firm nod. She then understood that he had just wanted to make sure she was okay. His smile told her that he was happy that she was riding with him.

Throughout the trip, they stayed in the same formation. She was pretty sure that it had to do with each Son's rank in the club. Clay led the pack, with Jax following close behind him on his left side, while Tig was on his right. Opie rode behind Tig and Stone behind him. Chibs was behind Jax, and then it was Hammer and her. Kip, Juice, and Gemma brought up the rear in Gemma's Caddy. Even though Stone was now a President, he chose to ride next to Hammer, and Addison was glad for the large man's presence.

As they rode down the highway, she couldn't help the goose bumps that formed on her skin as she heard the thunderous roars of the bikes around her. She had never ridden with others; it had only been her and her father. Sure they had crossed paths with other bikers. But those had mostly been weekend road warriors, men who needed to escape for a few days from their humdrum daily lives.

This was very different.

These men made this their life. They were all passionate about what they rode for, and would protect their way of life, their club, their family. These men would draw blood from anyone who posed a threat, and she knew to take them seriously. These men did not play games. They did not do anything half way. She had seen firsthand what they would do for their own.

She could still recall vividly what Happy had done to those men in the woods. Fueled by rage, he had pounded one to death, and then without hesitation, sliced and shot the other one. She didn't know what Stone and Hammer did to the guy who had pulled her into the house, the one she shot, but she knew he had not made it out of the shed alive. And she heard that Jax 'took care' of the one that shot Cooler.

She knew that they were all devoted to the club, to their brotherhood. She was still trying to understand the club life, but she knew one thing for sure. They were keeping her safe because her father was one of them. And now she was part of this club, this family. She was starting to feel like she actually belonged to something, a feeling that was new to her. She had already told herself that once they got back to Charming, she wasn't going to act like a helpless child. She was going to pull her own weight. She _would_ do her part, whatever that was.

Feeling the Harley slow down, Addison looked around to see that they were back in Charming. Sitting up, she took the time to really take in the town. Like the last time she had ridden in, it was already dark, but this time she was in the right mindset to make out storefronts and other buildings that faced the main street. Lit by the street lights, and the lights in the windows, the entire scene gave her a warm homey feeling.

Once they got to Teller-Morrow Automotive, they pulled in through the open gate. One by one, they lined up their bikes and backed them in. Addison waited for Hammer to park and turn off the engine, before she started to dismount.

Stone had pulled in next to them and when he was off his Harley, he held out his hand to help her get off. Once she was on solid ground, she removed her helmet and looked around as she pushed back the hood of her sweatshirt.

Unlike the first time she came into the lot, the large outdoor lights were lit. The club must have been waiting for them. They even had a welcoming committee. She saw two older Sons come out of the clubhouse. She had been introduced to them very quickly before they left for Tacoma. She remembered the taller older one, was Piney, a 'First 9', and the shorter one with brown curly hair was Bobby. This time she saw his 'Secretary' patch.

Behind them she saw two women, a brunette and a blonde, follow Piney and Bobby outside. However they stopped before reaching the group and hung back. Addison watched on as hugs and handshakes were exchanged amongst the Sons. Then she saw Piney count the bikes.

"You're missing two." Piney said to Clay with a pointed look. His mouth was pulled into a frown and she saw just a flicker of fear in his eyes.

"Cooler and Happy are hanging back in Tacoma," Clay said, as he pulled out a cigar and lit it. "They'll be down in a few days."

Once it was clear that no one had been lost, the two women made their way through the mass of bodies. Addison watched as Jax pulled the brunette into his arms, and kissed her. She was wearing a white button down shirt, with jeans and boots. It was easy for Addison to see that they held a great affection for one another. She then noticed sweetbutts come out from the clubhouse and make their way over to the group. However, Jax never let go or took his eyes off the brunette in his arms. Addison felt like she was intruding on an intimate moment, so she looked away.

She then spotted Opie as he leaned over and cupped the face of the thin blonde, who was wearing a cropped camisole, with jeans and heels. He kissed her before he lifted her up as she wrapped her legs around his waist. He kept her close, holding her under her bottom, as he walked to the clubhouse door, never letting her down. Obviously these women were Jax and Opie's girlfriends.

Had her father come home to this sort of welcome when her mother was alive? Is this what he could have expected each time he went away, had she not died? Addison couldn't help the thoughts of 'what if' that ran though her mind.

She pulled her eyes away from the reunions and looked over to see Kip and Juice getting things out of the back of the Caddy. Remembering what she had told herself about pulling her own weight, she walked over and picked up a bag that was sitting on the ground.

"Oh, you don't have to do that." Kip said as he tried to take the bag away from her.

Addison slipped the strap of the bag over her head and across her chest as she said with a smile, "I don't want any special treatment. I can help carry the bags in."

"A girl who doesn't mind getting her hands dirty, that's hot." Juice said as he pulled more duffel bags out of the SUV. Addison saw the playful smile he gave her telling her was just joking. She then looked over at Kip who turned his head quickly and busied himself getting the other bags. Addison thought she saw a blush on his cheeks.

Juice had walked ahead of them and into clubhouse first. She and Kip finished grabbing the other bags and made their way into the clubhouse as well.

As they walked across the lot, Kip asked her, "So, how was your ride down? Didn't get to talk to you much at the stops."

"Oh, it was great. Felt real nice to be on a bike again," Addison replied with a huge smile. She hadn't smiled much in the last week, but something about Kip just made her feel lighter.

"Yeah, you looked real good on it." Kip said. When Addison looked over to him, that blush was on his cheeks again.

Once they were inside, Addison noticed a pile of bags on the floor, but no Juice. In fact, she didn't see any Sons around, only a few sweetbutts sitting on the sofas and chairs. She did see closed doors to what she thought was a meeting room, the last time she was here.

Kip set down his bags, next to those that Juice had brought in. He turned to her and said, "Go ahead and drop them off here. I'll bring the bags to the rooms for the guys who are staying here tonight." Addison nodded and placed her bags on the floor.

Looking around, she saw that Gemma standing with the two women who were with Jax, and Opie earlier. In her arms was a bundle wrapped in blue blankets. She walked over to Gemma to see if there was anything she could do to help.

"Gemma, is there anything I can do to help? Maybe make something for everyone to eat?" Addison asked as she approached the three women.

"Nothing to worry about, sweetheart. Piney said that he sent out the two Nomads that were staying here to go get some food. There's a diner in town that's open late. So feel free to take a load off." She said as she smiled and looked back down to the little boy in her arms.

Addison looked over to the brunette and smiled. She was about to introduce herself when Gemma looked back up and said, "Oh, shit."

Gemma turned and nodded at the brunette. "Addison, this is Tara," Then she turned and nodded to the blonde. "And this is Lyla." She looked back to Addison, "Girls, this is Addison, Quinn's daughter."

Addison nodded and smiled to each of them, "Nice to meet you both."

"Piney told us what happened, we are sorry for your loss." Tara said in a soft tone, while Lyla nodded.

Addison could only nod again, not knowing what to say. Trying to take the attention off of herself, she looked into Gemma's arms to see the little boy who was fast asleep.

"And, this is Abel, Jax's little boy." Gemma said with a smile. It was easy to hear the pride in her voice as she introduced her grandson.

She was about to ask how old he was when she heard the doors to the meeting room open and turned around to see all the Sons walking out of the darkly lit room.

"Well now that they are out, let's get your things and we'll get you home so you can rest." Gemma said as she handed the little boy back to Tara.

Clay, Jax and Opie walked over to them, and she felt a bit out of place as each man hugged and kissed his woman.

"Hey baby, ready to get home?" Clay asked as he pulled Gemma close, his hands on her hips.

"Yeah, ready to sleep in my own bed again." Gemma said with a sly smile. Addison didn't have to think hard on what she was really after.

"Well, why don't you go on and head back, I'll send Tig to follow you home." Clay said as to stole a kiss.

"Okay." She kissed him back, and then turned to Addison. "Are your things still in the Caddy, or did you bring them in?" She asked as she pulled away from Clay.

"Why does it matter?" Clay asked, confused.

"Well, she's staying at the house with us, so she would need her shit." Gemma said as she put her hand on her hip, like it was a known fact.

Clay just looked at her then laughed. "She ain't goin' anywhere. She is staying right here where it's safe." He said pointing down to the hardwood floors.

"Like hell she is!" Gemma fired back. "Hasn't the girl been through enough? This clubhouse is no place for her to stay." She said in a low voice, but it was still loud for Addison, and those close by, to hear.

"She is staying in this clubhouse, end of discussion." He said, as he cross his arms across his chest, making it clear that he wasn't going to change his mind.

Gemma turned around and headed towards the door. "Prospect, make sure you get my shit out of the Caddy, and put it in his room." She said as she pointed to Clay with a glare. "Looks like I'm not going home yet." She added as she pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

Turning around and bending down slightly, Clay put a hand on Addison's shoulder. "It's not forever, just till we know more." He said in a soft voice. She nodded in acknowledgment.

Gemma took a drag on her cigarette and spat out, "Hmph, and just which _dorm room_ do you plan to put her in, _darling_?" She asked as she exhaled a cloud of smoke.

Clay turned around and started walking towards Gemma. He didn't have a pleasant look on this face, and Addison wasn't sure if someone should step in before things got out of hand.

That's when she heard Jax shout, "Hey" to get all their attention. "She can use my room. I don't plan on using it any time soon." He said with a grin as he pulled Tara more into his arms and looked down with a smile to his son.

_** SOA **_

Jax was kind enough to show Addison his room, which was right across from Kip's, where she had stayed last time. The two rooms were pretty much the same, each with a bed, a dresser, and a recliner in the corner. There was also a private bathroom attached to the room. Once he helped her get settled in, they both walked back out into the main room. Just then the doors to the outside opened and Addison saw two Sons walk in with several white plastic bags full of food.

These must be the two Nomads Piney sent to get food. The one who walked in first was shorter than the other Sons. He was probably just a few inches taller than Addison herself. However, he had a very solid build with his thick neck and broad shoulders. She could see his large upper arms clearly, and figured he was probably stronger than most.

He sported a short dark blond spiky mohawk. However unlike Juice's mohawk, the sides of his head were not as closely shaven, the blond fuzz easy to make out. His faded and torn jeans hung loosely around his hips and his wallet chain swung as he walked over to the bar to set down the bags. He had a plain white long sleeve T-shirt on under his cut, and it looked like he was wearing dog tags around his neck.

"Bull Dog." Jax called out to him in a friendly manner, as he left her side to go welcome his brother.

"Well if it isn't Jackson." The shorter member replied as he turned around and returned Jax's welcome with a hug and slap on the back. The way they were talking to each other told Addison that they had known each other for a while.

Once they had greeted each other, she saw Bull Dog nodding over to her and ask "That her?" She was still standing by the wall, close to the hallway, but could hear what they were saying.

"Yeah," Jax said, as he looked over to her and gave her a warm smile. "That's Addison."

Addison didn't know what to expect as the Son called 'Bull Dog' walked up to her in steady even strides. And she wasn't prepared for what he did. Stopping right in front of her, he took her small hands into his large rough ones. Then he leaned in, speaking in such soft tones, that only she could hear him.

"I'm very sorry, for your loss. Quinn was a good, good man. I know that you have probably heard this from everyone already, but know that we are not gonna stop until we make these assholes scream for death. If you need anything, and I mean anything, please don't hesitate to ask me." He said to her in a gentle voice as he kept a firm yet soft hold on her hands. She couldn't help but see the heartfelt compassion coming through in his green eyes.

"Thank you," was all she could get to come out of her dry throat.

Nodding to her one more time, he let go of her hands, stood up straight, and turned around to go greet his other brothers. Behind him, came the other man who had just finished placing his food on the bar counter. Like Bull Dog, he wore jeans and a long sleeved shirt under his cut. However his jeans were a dark blue and he wore a black shirt. His head was almost completely shaven, but she could make out the blond stubble.

He walked up to her, and something about his beady muddy green eyes made her feel uneasy, but since he was a trusted Son, she did her best to not let it show.

He lifted her hand, and bent down to place a kiss on the back as he said, "A shame to meet such a lovely beauty during such dark times." Something about the sugary sweet tone of his voice made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

She felt a presence next to her and looked over to see Hammer. The look on his face could only be described as stone cold. His eyes were focused on the man in front of her, who was still holding her hand.

"Ax," he said in a firm voice.

"Hammer," the Son apparently called Ax, replied as he let go of her hand. "Always glad to see you still alive and kickin'." He said with a smirk on his face.

"Bet you are." Hammer said as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Addison couldn't help but pick up on the tension between the two. It was so thick that you could probably slice through it with a knife. Juice saved her from having to say anything.

"Ax." Juice called out.

With a smug smile aimed up to Hammer, and a nod to Addison, Ax backed up and headed over to Juice.

"Keep your distance from Ax." Hammer whispered to her. "He's a little _odd_ when it comes to women." He said, arms still crossed across his chest, never taking his eyes off the other man. "He's one of the best damn intel officers we have. His _other_ skills are good too."

"Other skills?" Addison couldn't help but ask.

"He's the best at _'acquiring'_ items." Hammer answered her, never taking his eyes off Ax as he and Juice were both looking at something on what looked like her father's laptop.

"He's a thief?" She asked, just to clarify.

Hammer nodded. "Damn good at it. We're just lucky that he is loyal to the club." He said, and then looked down to her. "Don't worry, I hear he gave up stealing bras panties a long time ago." He gave her a raised eyebrow and one of his wide smiles. Then he walked over to the bar to grab something to eat.

Addison stared after Hammer as he walked away trying to decide if he was serious or not. She didn't know him that well, but from what she did know, she was inclined to believe him. She turned back to look at Ax again. If there was one thing living on the road taught her, it was to trust her instincts. And her instincts were telling her that something was not right with that guy.

Soon everyone was digging into the food. Addison went into the kitchen to get some napkins and utensils. As she turned around to head back out, she saw Ax standing between her and the doorway. She didn't hear anyone come in behind her. She was startled, but hid her reaction from him.

"Excuse me." She said, trying to get past him. She wasn't going to be rude to him, but Hammer's warning was ringing in her head and she felt very uneasy being in the room alone with him.

"Of course," he said, as he moved slightly to the side. When it was clear that he wasn't going to move any more, Addison took a breath and walked past him.

Once she had passed him, she heard him say in a low voice from behind her. "You smell as beautiful as you look." She stopped and turned around, shocked at what he had just said.

"What did you just say?" She asked, and before she knew what was happening, he was right in front of her.

"You smell sweet." He said as he bent down and took a sniff of her hair.

Before she could respond, she heard a voice from behind her, "Addison, Gemma's looking for you." She turned around to see Hammer standing at the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest as he nodded back to the main room.

She looked back at Ax who just continued to stare at her with a smile. Hammer's presence didn't seem to bother him. She quickly took the opportunity and left the kitchen, leaving Hammer alone with Ax.

_** SOA **_

As soon as Addison left the kitchen, Hammer walked over and grabbed the thinner man by the throat. "What the hell, man?"

"Hey, no need to get rough." Ax said, as he held his hands in surrender. "I was just seeing if she needed any help."

"Helping doesn't call for hair sniffing." Hammer said as he let go of Ax and shoved him.

Hammer watched Ax readjust his cut and could tell that he wanted to say something nasty. But he kept his mouth shut, shrugged, and walked out of the kitchen.

Hammer knew that this wasn't the last of it, but hoped that Ax would leave Addison alone. The girl was going through enough shit right now. She didn't need to deal with Ax on top of everything else.

_** SOA**_

The next morning Addison took a shower to get ready for the day. During dinner the night before, Gemma told her what the coming week would be like. Her dad's memorial would be held Saturday. Today was Tuesday, so they had four days to make the preparations. Gemma had said that the only things they needed to worry about were to make sure there was enough food and places for everyone to sleep. She told Addison that she didn't want her to worry about any of it.

Gemma said that several charter Presidents, especially ones from the neighboring states, would be coming, each with a few members. Stone had said more Nomads were coming, so all together, they were looking at forty plus Sons coming to town this weekend.

Digging in her bag, Addison pulled out her clothes for the day. Once she had on her blue long sleeve top, jeans, and boots, she looked into the bag and took out the little black velvet bag. She sat on the edge of the bed and took out the silver locket. Before she could open it, there was a knock on the door. She called out to whoever was on the other side, to come in.

Hearing the door open, she looked up to see her uncle walk in.

"How you holding up?" Clay asked her as he walked in and closed the door behind him.

"As good as I can, I guess." She answered him. He walked over to the bed, and sat down next to her, letting out a sigh as he sat down. She could hear the popping of his knees as he lowered himself onto the bed.

"What you got there?" He asked her, looking at what she was holding in her hand.

She opened the locket and after looking at it for a second, she handed it over to him. She watched as he took the locket and she could see the ache in his eyes, as he saw the pictures of his sister.

After a few minutes of silence, she finally heard him say in a low tone. "I remember when these were taken."

"Dad gave it to me for my eighth birthday." She said as he continued to look at the pictures.

"This one was taken right after you were born. She wanted him to have a picture of his family to take with him on the road." Clay said as he was obviously absorbed in memories of his sister.

"She begged me the whole day to take the picture. I was getting a headache so I finally caved and took it." Clay said.

"Thank you." Addison said with a hitch in her voice. If he hadn't taken the picture she wouldn't have one of the few memories of her mother.

They sat there for a while in a comfortable silence. Neither felt the need to talk, each lost in his or her own memories. Addison was glad that she still had her uncle. He was her only living blood relative and connection to her mother. With everything that was happening, she didn't know if she could handle losing him as well.

"Uncle Clay?" She spoke up as she straightened her back and looked at him. "What happened to my mother? How…how did she die?"

Addison could see his back go stiff, and she wondered if she should just apologize for asking. However, before she could say anything, he spoke again.

"What did your father tell you?" He asked as he closed the locket and handed it back to her.

"Nothing." She said, as she held the locket in her lap. "Just that she was taken away before her time. I never pushed him, because I could see the pain in his eyes. He only told me how much he loved her, and it was easy to see that he missed her." She answered.

She felt her hopes of finding out what had happened to her mother being squashed when she saw Clay stand up and head to the door. She should have never asked. Whatever happened must have been horrible to force him to leave the room. But then, before he opened the door, he turned back around.

"Grab your helmet and follow me." He said, then opened the door and left down the hall.

Not fully understanding what was happening, she reached over and picked up her helmet and a hoodie from the foot of the bed and followed him out of the room. Apparently they were going to leave the clubhouse.

Once she was in the main room, she saw Clay talking with Tig and Hammer, who were sitting at the bar. They both got up, and made their way outside.

Clay turned to her, "Come on, we're taking a small trip." He then turned around and walked out of the clubhouse.

Following close behind, Addison pulled on her hoodie. When she came outside, she saw Hammer and Tig revving up their Harleys and putting their helmets on. She slipped on her helmet and she walked over to Hammer and got on behind him. If she was going to ride bitch again, she was going to ride with someone she was used to.

They pulled out of the lot with Tig on their left, as they all followed closely behind Clay. Looking around as they rode, she took in the town, now that she could see it in the daylight. The town was small, made up mostly of small family-owned businesses. There were people out on the sidewalks, and she couldn't help but notice that some of the town's folks didn't like the Sons very much. For the most part, people waved or smiled. However there were also just as many who scoffed as they passed by.

They didn't ride for long, and soon they were passing though a large iron wrought gate.

They were at a cemetery.

They slowed down and followed the winding road, then came to a stop, parking along a curb.

Addison felt tightness in her chest and couldn't stop her hands from shaking. She only hoped that Hammer didn't feel her uneasiness. Once she got off the bike and took her helmet off, Hammer took it from her and nodded over to Clay, who had already begun walking though the grass.

She took a step forward and turned around to see that Hammer and Tig were not following them. Looking back over to her uncle, she took a few more steps to try and catch up with him. She walked behind him, keeping her eyes down on the grass, only looking up every few steps.

Once they stopped, she looked to see where they had ended up. Her eyes burned as she read the name carved into the granite headstone.

Lillian Abigail Morrow-Barkley

June 14, 1959 to April 30, 1989

Caring Sister

Beloved Wife

Devoted Mother

She concealed her tears but shared her smiles

Overcome with a mix of emotions at seeing her mother's headstone for the first time in her life, Addison sank down to the grass onto her knees. She could not speak as she tried to hold back her tears.

_** SOA **_

"It should never have happened." Clay spoke up from where he stood to her right. Still after all these years, he had a hard time talking about what had happened to his little sister. As much as he would like to keep the past buried where it belonged, he knew that Addison deserved to know what happened to her mother.

"Quinn had been out on a run." He started. He wasn't going to tell her exactly what her father had been doing. It was still club business, but he would tell her what he could. "I was dealing with club shit." He said as he ran a hand over his face.

"Your mother was over at Gemma's. You were only about fourteen months old." He could still remember how Lily would sometimes take Addison and visit with Gemma during that time. Gemma had her hands full with Jax and a sick Tommy. John was still in Belfast and Quinn and he were always dealing with club shit.

"There was an emergency and we asked Lily to come the clubhouse. She was a nurse and would help when some of the Sons got hurt." He said then went silent for a few minutes.

"One of our brothers, Lenny, was shot. Once she was done patching him up, we were so pissed off that we all took off like bats out of hell to get revenge." He didn't get into any more detail.

"Piney, who was the VP then, left Chico behind to look after Lenny. Before I left, I told a Prospect to follow her home. I told Lily to get him after she was done cleaning up. She had asked Quinn and me a few times to check her car. Said it had been making a funny noise. We didn't have many mechanics back then and she didn't want bother them. So I wanted someone to make sure she got home okay." He had to stop himself to gather his thoughts. He couldn't lose it now, not after all these years.

"We didn't know until the next morning that something was wrong. Unser, he's the police chief now, but was deputy then, showed up at the clubhouse just before dawn to tell us the news." Clay paused again and took a deep breath. "She was found in her car, overturned in a ditch, off the side of the road. I was devastated. I called Quinn to get his ass back home."

Clay continued to speak, not even looking at Addison, but only staring at his sister's headstone. "I talked to Chico; turns out the Prospect didn't follow her home. Apparently she told Chico not to worry about, that she'd be fine driving by herself. He said the Prospect was about to 'lucky' with a croweater." Clay paused to close his eyes.

When he opened them again, he couldn't help the tiniest of smiles. "That sounded like your mother. She was always so kind hearted. Probably took pity on the poor kid and didn't want him miss his opportunity." He continued to stare at the headstone.

"I called Gemma. She thought Lily stayed at the clubhouse. You stayed the night at her place. Said you were fine." Clay took another deep breath. The next part was the hardest part of this story.

"Turns out her engine mounts had loosened and the engine dropped out under her as she was driving home. She lost control of the car and skidded off the side of the road." Clay paused again and continued with a slight hitch in his voice. "Coroner's report said she bled out. She had probably been alive for a few hours. She was trapped and couldn't get out of the car."

"If the fuckin' Prospect had just followed her home, he could have helped her get out of the car, or gotten help, or even stopped her from skidding off the road!" His anger was starting to come out. "Both Quinn and I dealt with his sorry ass."

Clay calmed down before continuing. "But we both blamed ourselves for what happened. If either one of us had just taken a god dammed minute to look at her car, my sister would still be alive. I think for a long time, deep down, Quinn blamed the club too."

Clay finally looked over to where Addison was kneeling in front of Lily's headstone. He could see her small hands balled up into fists, as they rested on her knees, her entire body was shaking. He was about to bend down and pull her into a hug, when all of a sudden, she got up and looked at him. Her lips were pressed together tight and her eyes were blazing with anger.

_** SOA**_

As much as she was thankful to Clay to telling her how her mother died, she couldn't help but feel angry at the man in front of her. He could have stopped her mother's untimely death! But he chose club business over her safety and let her be taken away before she was even thirty! Pain consumed her heart in a deathly grip and a fury, the kind of which she never thought could be inside her, surged forth.

"I never got to know my mother because you couldn't take a few minutes to look at her car?" She asked, the anger coming through loud and clear in her voice. She wanted to say more, but her throat was dry all of a sudden, and she didn't think that yelling at him would make her feel better. Looking one last time at her mother's final resting place, she walked back over to Tig and Hammer who were still waiting by the bikes.

She took her helmet from Hammer and said, "Please get me out of here." Hammer responded with a raised eyebrow and looked over her head to Clay while she put on her helmet. She saw him nod and get on his Harley. She slipped on behind him and looked over to Clay who was still standing by her mother's grave just looking at them.

"Where to?" Hammer asked.

Addison responded, "I don't care." She hooked her fingers through his belt loops, "Just anywhere, but here." With that they took off.

As they left the cemetery, Addison's thoughts were in a jumble. The weird thing was, everything made sense to her, but in a totally fucked up way. As much as she wanted to cry for her mother, she knew that it would do nothing to change the fact that she was still dead.

As she thought over everything, it all started to fall into place. Her dad teaching her about bikes and cars, he had been trying to make amends with himself for what happened to her mother.

Did he blame the club for what had happened to her, like Clay said? The Prospect had chosen a whore over following her mother home.

Was that another added reason why her dad had taken her away from the club, raised her on his own? Had he taken on the life as a Nomad so that he wouldn't have been associated with any one charter? The more answers she got, the more questions she had.

She knew that she would never truly know what her father had been thinking. She would never know what had truly driven him to do the things that he had done, but she understood a little more about what he must have been dealing with, what nightmares he himself had been running away from.

Had he been so hurt at the loss of Lily, that he wanted to keep her as close to him as possible? And in doing so, had kept her away from everyone else, almost completely isolated?

She had always seen her father as a kind and caring man, but had he just been greedy all this time? Had he kept her close, because he couldn't forgive himself for what had happened to Lily? Had he seen her as a way to make things right again?

It was all too much for her. She never thought that her world would be turned this upside down.

Taking a deep breath, she was glad that Hammer seemed to understand that she needed to clear her mind. He left Charming and had taken to the highway. It looked like they were back on the I-5. She knew that eventually he would have to bring her back, but she would enjoy this feeling for as long as she could.

She knew that she probably shouldn't have reacted that way to Clay, but she was shocked and hurt. She was going to have to think long and hard on what her place was going to be in the club, if, after everything was said and done, she even wanted to have anything to do with this club anymore. It had gotten her mother killed, what more would it take from her?

_** Authors Notes:**_ We hope that you enjoyed this nice long chapter, it was a headache for both of us. This chapter, along with the next two are going to be a bit longer and packed with information, so it may take us a while longer to get them out. We are taking the time to make sure that they are just right, we don't want to risk losing part of the plot or story line. Also, check out the profile page to get a look at who we are basing our OC's after. A few new ones have been added.

As always we would love to know what you thought, so please feel free to review.


	16. Chapter 16

_** Authors Notes:**_ Here is a new chapter for you to enjoy. This was a really hard chapter to work on for the both of us, not just due to the length (over 10,000 words) but because of everything that happens in this chapter. Which brings us to….

___**!WARNNING!**_ – As many of you know, yes this is a Happy story, but there are many some things that _**must**_ happen before things go any farther with our favorite biker. As much as this story is about Addison, this is also about the club, so there are some things that we have been setting up and working into the story, which plays into what happens later on. We have put a ton of thought and time into what happens and what is written into the story. Nothing is put into the chapters that won't play into something later down the line. Like in the show, there is never just one thing going on, but many. That's why we love it so very much. _**- ! END WARNING!**_

Thank you again to all those who have read and reviewed the last chapter, and all those silent readers who have added us to your alerts and favorites list. As much as we love to write, we keep doing so to give you something new and fresh to read.

**Born to Die**

**Chapter 16**

**Written By:** Dannimitchell85 and Kaylalong

Addison didn't know where they were headed as she watched the scenery pass by. From I-5, they had merged onto 580 W. After about an hour, Hammer pulled off the freeway into Oakland.

He drove to an area of town where Taco trucks lined the streets. Pulling into the parking lot of a Goodwill store, he parked his Harley and then got off. She followed him to a particular truck at the end of the row. He seemed to know which one to pick and took it upon himself to order for them both, checking only to see if there was anything she didn't eat.

As they didn't see anywhere to sit, they ate their lunch while leaning against the side of a building, standing with the other customers. Hammer seemed content to eat in silence and didn't ask her any questions. Once he finished his lunch, he began to flirt with some of the nearby women. Even in her mood Addison couldn't help but be amused as she watched him in action.

He was a charmer that was for sure. It was easy to see how someone would melt as he flashed those pearly whites. Add that to his height and tanned skin and he was bound to draw the attention of a few women. Even though Addison never had a boyfriend or dated, she found she did have a preference when it came to men and Hammer simply wasn't her type. She was drawn to men who were leaner, built for speed, not strength.

Addison watched as Hammer took a piece of paper from one woman, with blond hair. It looked like those charms of his worked well enough to get him a phone number.

Once he had had his fun for the afternoon, they walked back to his bike and headed back to Charming.

When they arrived back at Teller-Morrow, Addison was worried that they would be greeted by a mob of angry Sons. She knew that it wasn't very smart to just go off like that, and to take Hammer with her, but she had really needed to get away.

However as they pulled into the parking lot, they were only met with a nod from Tig, who was helping Chibs work on a car. Looking around for the others, she saw Gemma and Bobby through the office window, looking over some paper work. With all the noise going on at the shop, they must not have heard her return since neither one looked up.

Addison thanked Hammer for lunch, and for not asking questions, then made her way into the clubhouse. Once she opened the heavy doors, she waited a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dark interior. Piney was behind the bar and there were a few men she didn't recognize, as well as sweetbutts, or _croweaters_ as Gemma had called them the night before, scattered in the room. She didn't see any other Sons, especially not Clay.

She wasn't ready to face him again. So with a silent nod to Piney, she made her way to her room. She wanted to be alone to think clearly. After everything that happened with her father, and then learning about her mother, her brain was in overload. She knew that to avoid the oncoming headache, she needed to get some rest. She was thankful that sleep had come easily to her.

_** SOA**_

A few hours later she woke up to a very noisy clubhouse. As she rubbed the sleep out of eyes, she heard the loud thumping of music outside along with a roar of what sounded like shouting. After checking herself in the bathroom, she peeked outside to see what was going on. Once she reached the main room, it looked like there was a party in full swing. Not knowing the cause for all the excitement she looked around to see if she could find Kip. He would be able to tell her what was going on.

And there, in the center of the commotion, she found him. He was standing near the bar, surrounded by Sons patting him on the back and downing shots. Opie, who was standing between Addison and Kip, shifted to the left, and she could see the reason for the excitement. The back of his cut no longer bore the 'Prospect' rocker on the bottom. Instead, it now held the Reaper logo in the center with the 'California' bottom rocker and the most coveted '**Sons of Anarchy**' top rocker.

She considered going back to her room and leaving them to their partying, but then Kip turned around and saw her. He had a smile so wide, she thought his face would split in half. Nothing could wipe that smile off his face, not even when Hammer slapped him hard on the back and sent him stumbling into the bar counter. But soon he was standing again and started to walk towards her.

"Ad-d-i-son," Kip slurred as he came over to her. "There you are!" He held his arms wide open and gave her a hug. As he pulled back he asked, "What do you think?" He then turned around in a circle to show off his new cut. As he faced her again, she saw the 'Redwood Original' patches on his left chest.

"Congratulations, Kip." She said with a sincere smile. She knew all his hard work finally paid off and now he was a fully patched member. For a moment, she forgot about what happened earlier that day and really was happy for him. This was probably the first truly 'good' thing that had happened since she pulled into the lot over a week ago.

"Come on. Let's get you a beer!" Kip said as he draped his arm around her shoulders.

She was about to protest, but before she could say anything; they were in front of the bar, surrounded by other Sons as Piney handed her a beer. "Oh, I don't really…"

"Come on, it's my patch-in party. Have one for me." Kip said, still with the huge smile, as he clinked his bottle with hers. They sat down on two of the barstools, and she decided she could allow herself to forget about the day for just a little while.

What else would she do, go back to her room and let her memories and emotions consume her? She looked around the room and didn't see Clay anywhere. She would try and enjoy the party, for Kip.

Chibs and Tig were telling everyone around the bar of the pranks they had played on Kip during the last year. Addison couldn't help but laugh along with the others at the misfortune of the newest Son. Kip laughed as well, and every once in a while he would lean over and nudge her shoulders.

When she saw that he was finished with his beer, she replaced it with her untouched one. He gave a warm smile and thanked her. He probably thought she had gotten him a new one. It only took him a few minutes to finish that one as well. She looked around for Piney to see about getting him another, but didn't see him.

Addison walked to the other side of the bar to dispose of the empty bottles and went to grab Kip a fresh cold one. She had never liked the taste of beer, so she didn't even bother with getting one for herself. She would just end up giving it to Kip again. He father had given her sips of his from time to time, and she wasn't fond of the bitter taste.

When she finally made it back around the bar, Kip was turned away, talking to Opie. The crowd seemed to have dispersed a little, and it was easy for her to see the other Sons had formed smaller groups and were sitting with croweaters or starting a game of pool.

A brunette croweater, wearing a tight strapless top and short denim cutoffs with long bright red nails, sat on the stool next to Kip, where she had been sitting. She turned around to look at Addison from head to toe, then titled her head a little, and then turned back to Kip while running her hand up and down his arm.

Addison wasn't really sure what had happened. She got the feeling that she had just been sized up. She hadn't really experienced anything like that before and didn't want to deal with it now. Feeling the onset of a headache, she walked over to Kip and handed him the beer. "Here you go," she said with a smile.

Kip turned to her and grabbed the beer. Then with a confused look on his face, he looked over to the croweater on his left. "Hey, she was sitting there." He said, while pointing down to the stool.

Before he could tell the brunette to move, Addison interjected, "Oh, that's okay. I'm really tired. I think I'm going to call it a night."

Kip looked at her with slightly glazed eyes, "You sure?"

"I am," she nodded. "Good night. And again, congratulations!" She leaned over to give him a quick one armed hug, ignoring the other woman, and waved goodnight to Opie. Then she walked back to her room. She got ready for bed and decided to just forget about the entire day and try to fall asleep. She was also going to ignore the strange feeling she got when the croweater watched her walk away. Eventually, even with the noise outside, sleep claimed her.

_** SOA**_

The next morning, she woke up to find the main room completely trashed. So she gathered up what cleaning supplies she could and went to work. It was a welcome distraction, and for that she was thankful. It was then that she had taken up the task of keeping things somewhat clean around the clubhouse, anything to keep herself busy.

A few days had passed and Addison still didn't have any answers. She didn't know what to make of it all, and until she sorted everything out, she had kept her distance from her uncle. She needed the time to think.

At least she wasn't always stuck in the clubhouse. A few times she went to the store with Lyla to help pickup groceries and other supplies. While they had been out, she got to know the thin blonde more and found out that Lyla was a porn star. By now, Addison didn't think she could be surprised anymore, but she was. She decided not to make any judgments on Lyla. Opie seemed to really like her and she was nice. On one of their trips, Lyla took her to a jewelry shop to get her locket fixed. It was supposed to be ready today and she would go with Lyla later to pick it up later.

Over the course of the few days, Addison hadn't seen much of Kip. When he finally wandered out of his room the afternoon of the day after his party, he didn't look all that great. He had given her a small smile, which she returned and then he had been kept busy working in the shop. Since she was keeping herself busy, she didn't get much of a chance to talk to him.

After the first day of cleaning, she branched out to clean the members' dorm rooms. She learned rather quickly to carry gloves in her back pocket for Chibs' and Tig's room. For the most part, Tig's room was organized, and his dirty clothes had at least made it into the hamper. It was all the _other_ clothing that she didn't know what to do with. She wanted to leave them where they were, but instead piled all the different bras and panties into one spot, so she could clean the rest of his room.

She had checked with them first so they didn't think she was snooping. She wasn't met with resistance like she thought she would. Juice hugged her, and Tig just shrugged and said that as long as she didn't mess up his shit, then she could clean whatever she _'damn well felt like'_. Gemma said she didn't need bother with their room and she never got a chance to ask Kip, so left his room alone as well.

With all the Sons coming into town for her dad's memorial, Gemma and some others were trying to find places for them all to stay. Piney, Bobby, and Tara had offered their houses. Apparently Clay didn't like the idea of the Sons scattered all over town, but there was no way they could all fit in the clubhouse. She also overheard Gemma making arrangements with a local motel, whose owner was a friend of the club.

After much discussion, (and protesting from Gemma), it was decided that the memorial would be held right here in the clubhouse. Space would be tight, but it was safe. They didn't want to risk walking into another ambush. Bobby asked to borrow her father's cut for the memorial, seeing how there was no casket. She didn't have to think it over at all, and he had reassured her that he would take very good care of it.

Pulling her thoughts away from what tomorrow would bring, she focused on today and the laundry she was doing. Bending down to check the dryer, Addison removed all the clothing from the machine. She lifted the basket and left the laundry room to make her way back to the room that Stone had been using, which was normally Opie's.

Addison knocked on the closed door so that she didn't interrupt the new Nomad President. When she didn't hear a response, she opened the door and sat the basket down on the bed and started to fold his clothes.

For a brief moment she was back home in Alaska, folding her father clothes, getting him ready to head out to do some 'work' for the club. She was still torn up inside on she should feel about father. Everything was still so fresh and raw; it was hard for her to think straight. So much was going on that she could only focus on one thing at a time, and right now she was trying to make sure that Stone's clean shirts didn't wrinkle.

"You don't have to worry about folding them. Your washing them is enough." Stone's voice came from the open doorway.

Turning around, she saw the large man leaning against the door frame, looking on as she continued to fold his shirts.

"I like to finish the things I start." She said as she placed the freshly folded white shirt down and picked up another.

She did have to admit that she didn't mind doing this for Stone. Out of all the members, Stone was the most organized. Even his dirty clothing had been folded and placed in the hamper. She would be lucky if some of the others even knew what a laundry hamper was.

"Besides," She said as she turned around to look at him, "it gives me something to do. Gemma won't let me help with planning for the memorial. She just asks what dad's favorite color was, or his favorite food." She said as she returned to folding.

"Yeah well, from what I understand, Gemma likes to take charge of these things." Stone said as he walked into the room. He picked up the stack of folded clothing, and packed them into his bag.

It was the habit of living life as a Nomad. Always be at the ready, never getting too comfortable in one place. Addison had the same philosophy. She always kept her things in her bag, packed and ready.

Once everything was in place to his liking, he stood straight and looked at her. "Clay told me what happened the other day, at the cemetery." He said.

Addison couldn't help but stand straighter and stiffen at his words. "Did you know her?" She asked. "Did you know my mother?" She asked as she tightened her hold on the now empty basket.

"No, I joined after." He said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I never got to meet her, but I knew about what happened. Your father told me how bad he felt." He said.

"He could have done something to prevent it." Addison said, starting to get angry again.

"Yes, and so could Clay. The prospect could have followed her." He said, then took a deep breath, "And she could have not driven the car."

"What?" Addison said as she looked him in the eyes, the anger now evident in her voice. "Are you saying that it was my _mother's_ fault?"

"No." Shaking his head, Stone looked down and took a deep breath, "That's not what I'm saying." He then looked back up and over to Addison. "It was no one's fault and everyone's fault." She continued to stare at him, waiting for him to explain.

"We all make choices in our lives. Sometimes they are the right choices, sometimes they are the wrong ones. We're human and we make mistakes." Stone explained.

Then in a very soft voice he said, "I'm sorry this mistake cost your mother's life."

That tightness took a hold of her heart again, and Addison had to sit down. She walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, next to Stone. She wanted to stay angry, but something about Stone's words made her stop and listen.

Stone took hold of her small hands. He just held them for a few minutes before he continued in the same soft voice. "I am very, very sorry for your loss. It is completely unfair that you had to grow up without a mother." Stone said as he squeezed her hands before letting go and standing up from the bed.

"But, regardless of what happened all those years ago, I know Quinn spent twenty years trying to make it up to you. And I don't know if Clay ever forgave himself for what happened to his sister." He said as he laid his hand on her shoulder.

"They had twenty years to deal with what happened, and I know you've only had a few days. But, eventually I think you need to forgive them, and move on." Addison watched as Stone was making his way to the door.

"As members we all put the club and our brothers first, while trying to keep those we care about safe. We don't always make the best decisions, but we do learn from them. " Stone added as he placed his hand on the door frame. Then he said, "Thank you for the clean clothes."

Taking in Stone's words, Addison tried to understand, but it still hurt that her mother paid with her life. Was this what her life would involve if she were to stay a part of the club? Would one of her decisions cost someone's life?

_**SOA**_

Wiping down the bar counter, Addison thought over Stone's talk. She was trying to see it from a 'brother's' point of view. What happened to her mother wasn't the fault of one person. There had been so many factors involved. But regardless, in the end, her mother lost her life. Even if she did forgive Clay and her father, what was she to _do_ now? The club, now her family, wasn't what she had imagined. Addison had never felt this confused or lost.

Looking up from the clean counter, Addison saw Juice and Ax sitting at a booth, both men focused on whatever project they were working on. Ax looked like he was trying to hack into her father's laptop, and Juice was hunched over his own computer, printouts scattered all over the table.

Regardless of how she felt, she was part of this club for now and she had promised to try and take care of them. As much as she wanted to keep her distance from Ax, she knew that it was important to the club to find out what was on her father's computer. Grabbing two cold beers and popping the caps off, she walked over to them.

"Thought these might help." She said, as she sat the bottles down on their table.

"Beautiful, and knows when to bring a man a beer. That's hard to find in a smart young woman." Ax said with a smile, however, he sent Juice a glare just as Addison heard a thud from under the table.

Ignoring the Nomad, Addison looked over to see Juice smiling at her. Although, it was easy to see that he wasn't really happy. His smile didn't reach his eyes like it normally did.

"Anything I can do to help?" She knew how to use a computer as well any other twenty year old, but she didn't have the kind of _skills_ that Juice had. Plus, this was her dad's laptop. She would try to help. She wanted to help.

"Not unless you happen to know your father's exact password." Juice said as he snatched the beer and took a nice long drink. "He has a massive firewall setup. If you don't have the right password, you don't get in. You only get to try three times before the failsafe kicks in and wipes the hard drive." He said, as he nodded to Ax. "He's the one who set it up, so he should be able to get in, hopefully."

"What can I say, I do good work." Ax said as she kept his eyes on Addison.

"Yeah will next time you set up a damn Fort Knox on a computer, make a better back door, asshole. We have already wasted five hours on that thing." Juice said as there was another thump from under the table. It was easy to understand that Juice was kicking Ax.

Thinking what the password could be, Addison grabbed a piece of blank paper and pen that were lying on the table. After a few minutes, she wrote down a few different names and dates that she knew were important to her father.

"Here," she said sliding over the list to Ax. "Maybe those will help." Then backed away from the table to go and find something else to keep her busy. She didn't miss Ax picking up the pen that she had been using and sniffing it.

Something was wrong with that man.

_** SOA **_

Juice kicked Ax under the table again, "What the fuck man?" He said and then reached over to pluck the pen out of Ax's hands.

"Hey, that's mine." Ax said, trying to grab it back.

"You are seriously fucked up in the head. Did your mother not hug you enough as a child? What the hell you doing sniffing things touched by women?" Juice asked, as he glared across the table at the other man.

Ax returned his glare and then looked down to the list that Addison had left.

Ax was a little bit older then Juice, and had some major issues, but he was a whiz when it came to computers. Other than the two of them at this table, there were very few in the club who had their talent with computers. However, as talented as Ax was with hacking into computers, Juice knew that the man favored hacking into houses more.

_ 'Computers hold no challenge. The real fun is the rush of thinking you're going to get caught.'_ Ax had told him when they first met. It was easy to see that Ax was always looking to get high off the adrenaline rush. Juice didn't even want to think of the ways he got those highs. 

They had both been working on trying to get into Quinn's computer, but when Juice gave up on it, handing it over to Ax, he took up his search for the two brothers who were after Addison. He was starting to narrow down the list of names, and he was glad that it looked like there where only five sets of brothers with his parameters. It was still a long shot, but he knew that this was better than nothing.

"Bingo." Ax said as he flipped the small computer around to show Juice that he got in.

"Password or backdoor?" Juice asked, wanting to know how he had been able to get in so quickly.

Juice looked up at Ax when he heard mumbling. "Sorry? Couldn't hear ya."

"Password." Ax said a bit louder, as he glared at him.

With a chuckle, Juice pulled the computer over and started looking though the hard drive. "I don't know if it's a good thing that you couldn't even hack into your own firewall, or just sad." Juice said as he looked over the top of the screen to see Ax giving him another death glare.

"Can I have the pen back now?" Ax asked as he held out his hand.

"You did this just so you could get the pen back?" Juice asked.

When Ax didn't answer and only held out his hand more, Juice just shook his head and gave the man back the pen. Once the pen hit his palm, Ax was all smiles, like a little boy in a candy store.

"You need help." Juice said as he got back to work looking through Quinn's computer.

Not holding back, Juice dove in, but after a while only found a few files. He was a bit disappointed that there wasn't more. With the type of security that had been on the computer, he had been hoping to find something worth over five hours of work. Even the programs that Quinn had uploaded weren't all that unique, such as music programs, a GPS program that Juice himself used – one that could track someone with the right equipment, games, and others of the like.

Clicking on a folder that was labeled 'Addison', it opened to show a Word document containing a list of several sets of numbers. He couldn't understand the significance, but he didn't give up. Taking another sip of his cold beer, he looked over the list again. That's when he saw it.

"Holy fuck." He said out loud, as he double checked to make sure that he was right. "Shit."

"What?" Ax asked as he leaned forward and tried to look over the screen.

"Go get Clay." Juice said as he opened another folder marked, 'In the End'. Bringing up another word file; he skimmed it over before he realized what it was.

It was Quinn's 'Last Will and Testament'.

Juice didn't look up as he heard Ax leave. He leaned back into the booth and pulled his eyes away from the document in front of him. He felt like he was reading something that wasn't meant for his eyes.

Juice looked as he heard the heavy clubhouse doors open, and looked up to see Clay walk in, followed by Tig, and Bobby.

Sitting up straight, Juice opened his mouth about to tell him what he found, but stopped himself as Clay held up his hand. Clay made his way over to the bar as Tig walked behind it, grabbing some beers.

Walking over to the booth that he was sitting at, Clay slid in where Ax had been just a few minutes before.

"What'd you find?" Clay asked as he nodded to the computer.

"Most of it is just harmless official club shit, member names, dues, that kind of stuff." Juice stated, "But, then I found…"

Scratching his head, Juice didn't know how to really tell him, so he turned the laptop around so that Clay could see what was up on the screen.

After a few minutes of looking it over, Clay pulled his eyes away from the computer and looked over the top to Juice. "You read any of this?" He asked.

Shaking his head, Juice told him the truth. "Once I realized what it was, I stopped." He said leaning over and pulling the computer back and reaching over to pull up the other files he found. "That's not all." He added as he pulled up the 'Addison' document.

Clay sat back and then looked to Juice. "What the fuck are all those numbers?" He asked taking a drink of his beer.

"I think they're accounts." Juice said. "The first set is made of latitude and longitude coordinates. These are account numbers and I think these are safety deposit boxes." Juice explained as he pointed at the screen.

After a minute Clay looked up to him, "Find anything else out on the other problem?" Clay asked. Juice knew that he was talking about the brothers.

"Yeah," Juice said as he lifted up a stack of papers and handed them over to his President. "These are all the brothers listed with the last name 'Jager' and that would fit with who we are looking for. I was able to get the list down to five sets."

Taking the papers from him, Clay looked though him, then nodded for Tig to come over from behind the bar. Clay looked over to his SSA and handed the papers over to him. "Go find Stone and give these to him." He then looked back over to Juice. "Good work." He said as he stood up and took the computer with him. He walked into the church room alone and shut the door.

_** SOA**_

A knock on the door pulled Addison out of her thoughts as she put down her last pair of socks. After she left Juice and Ax in the main room, she thought she would do some of her own laundry.

"Come in." She called. She didn't turn around to see who had walked in, and picked up her folded socks to place them in her bag.

Turning to the side, she saw Kip open the door, and take a step inside. "Hey, you got a minute?" He asked as he scratched the back of his head. Something that Addison had picked up as his nervous habit.

"Sure." She told him.

"Umm, Look I just want to say, I'm sorry." He said to her.

"For what?" Addison asked, not understanding why he would feel the need to apologize to her.

"For anything that may have happened at my patch-in party." He said with a bashful smile, still rubbing the back of his neck. "I can't really remember much, but I do remember pulling you to the bar and getting you a beer. Everything after that is a bit fuzzy." He told her.

Addison had to keep herself from laughing. "Don't worry about it. Nothing happened if that's what you're worried about. I didn't even drink the beer." She reassured him. "I gave it to you after you finished yours."

He removed his hand from the back of his neck as he looked completely relieved, "Oh that's good to know. I thought that I may have done something stupid. You've been kind of distant the last few days." He said.

Addison looked back to her bed and pulled the basket off the top and sat it on the floor. Had she been that easy to read? "Sorry, it's not you," she said. She didn't want him to think that he had done anything wrong.

"Just a lot on my mind." She said as he looked back up to him. She could see that he was about to ask her more, when she saw Clay appear behind him in the hallway.

He stopped and looked into the room. "Am I interrupting anything?" He asked as he looked back and forth between them.

Kip was fast to reply. "Nope, just talking." He said as he moved to walk past Clay. "I'm on my way out." He said then waved back to Addison. She had been hoping that Clay was just walking by, but when he walked into the room and closed the door, she knew she was going to have to face him.

"We need to talk." He said, his tone soft.

She wasn't ready to face him yet. She still didn't know how to felt about everything. However, there was something that she did need to say.

"I'm sorry." She said, as she stood up and looked at him as he stopped near her bed. "For leaving like I did." She said, apologizing for the way she had run off from the cemetery.

Clay lifted up his hand as if he was waving it off. "I didn't come here to talk about that." He said looking at her with softness in his eyes. "We can talk about that later, when you're ready." He told her.

He walked over to the bed, and sat down. "Juice and Ax where able to get into your father computer." He told her as she sat down to look at the laptop.

"There wasn't much on it, but there was a file that had your name on it." He said as he placed his right hand over his knee and leaned on it a bit. "Looks like he may have left something for you, Juice said that there were a few accounts opened in your name." He said as he pulled his eyes away from her and looked to the floor.

"Looks like there are also some safety deposit boxes." He said. "Juice has the locations and is working on getting the bank names and such." He informed her, as he looked back up to her.

"There was also," he took a deep breath, "a will." He said. It was clear for Addison to see that he was having a hard time telling her what he was trying to get off his chest.

"Some of it was about the deposit boxes. It said that he gave a set of keys to Bear for safe keeping. I called him, told him to bring them down for you. The will also had instructions on how to access the boxes."

"I…" She didn't know what to say. What could she say?

She wasn't ready for when Clay pulled her into a hug. "I know that you have a lot on your mind, and I know you're pissed as hell at me right now, but I'm still here for you." He said as he placed a kiss on the top of her head, and then stood up and headed to the door.

He didn't look back to her, didn't say anything more, just left. She was thankful in a way that he wasn't pushing her to talk, but now she was left with one more thing to think about.

Looking at the clock she saw that it was working on six o'clock in the evening. She would hold herself together, join the other to get something to eat, then she would call it an early night and get some rest. The others would be riding in come morning, and all eyes would be on her. She needed to keep it together; she couldn't fall apart, not now.

_**SOA**_

The last few days had been the best of his life. There wasn't anything that Kip wouldn't do for the club. He had put in his time for the last year and given the club his trust. They showed him their trust when they rewarded him by making him a full member.

As he looked at his new cut hanging on the back of his chair, he knew that it wasn't just the Reaper logo or the Sons of Anarchy rocker on the back. The club was a place to call home. It was something to fight for, something to protect. All his life Kip put others before him, looking out for his friends and family, even if it meant putting himself in harm's way.

When he had been released from the military, he had thought that his life was over. All he had ever wanted was to fight for something, to have something to fight for. That had been taken away from him after that nasty run-in with the land mine. Not only was he told he wasn't qualified for active duty, he no longer met the physical requirements, but his nut sack suffered the most along with his inner thigh. He had been given full honors when he was released, and was now a veteran of the Iraq War, but all he had wanted was to stay in and fight.

He had been so glad when he had found the Sons and he knew that this was his second chance. These men knew what a real brotherhood was; they knew what it meant to spill blood for your brothers, and to give all of yourself to the fight.

The fact that there was free pussy had been an added bonus for him.

Now that he had the respect and trust of those he could now call brothers, he knew that he wasn't about to do anything to screw this up. He wouldn't let them down. This was his second chance, and he wasn't going to fuck it up.

Over the last few days the others had eased up on him, just a bit, and they told him to enjoy the down time while he had it. He knew that with all the shit that was going on with what happened to Quinn, and then the regular shit that the club dealt with, they would need him to be on top of his game.

That's what had him lacing up his shoes at one o'clock in the morning. He had been trying to sleep, but it just wouldn't come, so he hoped to burn off some energy in the ring. He thought that he could do some light training, maybe hit the heavy bag a few times. Hopefully that would tire out his body so he could relax. Dressed in a T-shirt and long shorts, he put on a hoodie and slung his boxing gloves across his left shoulder as he left his room.

As he walked into the hallway, he couldn't help but look over at Jax's room, where Addison had been staying. He stopped when he saw that the door was open ever so slightly. Standing up straight, his protector mode kicked in, and he crept closer to the door.

Addison wasn't one to leave the door open, no matter how small, so he knew something wasn't right.

Hoping that the door wouldn't squeak, he lightly pushed the door open. The first thing that he saw was Addison resting peacefully in bed. She was on her side, facing the door, and looked to be sleeping deeply.

Kip was about to back out and close the door when he heard a soft noise to his right. He turned around just in time to see Ax fall back into the shadow of his corner

"What the fuck are you doing in here?" Kip asked in low voice, to keep from waking up Addison. He hadn't spent much time with the thinner Nomad, but he had picked up on Ax's attraction to her. And normally he wouldn't get involved in something like this, but something about Ax just didn't sit right with him.

Kip watched as Ax stepped forward, and held up a finger to his lips, telling him to be quiet. He didn't know what Ax was getting at, but his instincts kicked in and he really wished he had gone back to his room and grabbed his knife or gun.

He was about to go into room and forcibly remove Ax when he a noise coming from Addison's bed. Looking over he saw that she was waking up, and it only took a minute for her to open her eyes and look around to take in the scene awaiting her in the room.

Kip watched as she bolted up and clicked on the lamp next to her, clutching her blanket to her chest. She rubbed her eyes as she looked back and forth between the two Sons and then asked in a rough sleepy voice, "What the hell?"

"You're so pretty when you sleep." Ax said. Something about the sweetness in his voice made Kip sick.

Kip looked back to the Nomad beside him, and wasn't sure if he should be jealous or pissed. Ax just freely admitted that he had been in Addison's room, by himself in the dark, watching her sleep.

"You have been watching me sleep?" Addison asked in an angry tone as she glared at Ax. Kip had to admit that he was glad that she wasn't freaking out. If the others heard a screaming woman in the in the middle of the night, someone would end up hurt, or worse.

Shrugging, Ax just looked between Addison and Kip. "What? I like to look at pretty things." He said as if that explained everything. It was easy for Kip to see that Ax didn't think it was a problem sneaking into a woman's room in the middle of the night.

Pulling the covers higher, Addison looked at Kip, then to Ax. "How did you get in? I locked the door." She asked.

With a proud smile, Ax pulled his left hand out of his pocket and held out two little pin-like tools. "Never go anywhere without them." He said in a happy voice as he twirled them in his hand.

"You picked her lock?" Kip asked to clarify. When Ax just nodded, Kip advanced on him. Now he was really regretting not going back to his room for a weapon.

"You know, I was going to work out against the heavy bag, but you'll do instead." Kip said as he crossed his arms over his chest. He had heard stories about Ax, but wanted to keep an open mind. Now, seeing this happen in front of his own eyes, he decided this guy was a total pervert.

Ax gave him an almost sinister look and was about to say something when Addison spoke up, "Get out." She said pointing to the door.

Kip watched as Ax hung his head and left. Kip followed him out watched him walk down the hall. The man was totally silent on his feet. If Kip hadn't been watching him, he would have thought that Ax never left. He was about to leave as well and let Addison sleep, when he heard her mumble something. Turning around, he saw that she was running a hand over her face.

"I'm sorry? What was that?" He asked as he couldn't make out what she had said.

"I asked if you would stay." She asked as she looked over to him. "Please, just for a little bit?"

Shutting the door, he walked over to the chair in the corner, laid his boxing gloves across the armrest, and sat down. He couldn't blame her for asking him to stay. It was only normal for her to be a little freaked out after finding someone broke into her room just to watch her sleep.

After a while of just silence, she spoke up. "I'm sorry. It's just that he creeps me out." She confessed to him. "Hammer told me to keep my distance from him, but he just seems to always be 'there'. Sorry if I'm over-reacting, I have a lot on my mind." She was rambling now, and he could see that she seemed to be carrying a lot on her shoulders.

"It's okay. You have a lot on your plate. You shouldn't have to worry about someone creeping on you." He said with a little smile, trying to make it clear that he understood her uneasiness.

With a half hearted laugh she looked up and smiled at him. "Thanks," She said as he pointed to the door. "You know for coming in and 'saving' me." Then sat up straight and said, "Shit." Kip watched her climb over the covers to the foot of the bed, where her bag was on the floor. She flopped down on her stomach, reaching into the bag looking for what, Kip had no clue.

To be honest, he wasn't really looking at her bag. He was taking in the sight of her small body lying on top of the bed, dressed in only a tight black tank top, and a pair of sleep shorts.

When he felt his hands get sweaty, he had to wipe them on his work out shorts. This wasn't anything like looking at a croweater. This was more like back in high school when he was working up the nerve to ask a girl out. Those nervous and fidgety feelings were coming back tenfold.

Addison wasn't anything like those girls who hung around the club. They made getting laid way too easy. They were just pussy. Addison was different. There was something there, something he wanted to explore further.

He pulled his eyes away from her firm behind, when he saw her start to sit back up. He didn't need her to think that he was just as sick as Ax.

"Everything okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, just something Hammer told me earlier came to mind, had to check." She answered.

He raised his eyebrows in question. He wanted to know, but he didn't want to push her into telling him something she wasn't comfortable with.

With a blush on her cheeks, she crawled back under the covers and looked down to her hands. He'd seen her do that before. She was either embarrassed or uncomfortable about something. "Hammer said that Ax used to steal 'items' from women, so I was just checking to make sure all mine where accounted for." She explained as she kept her eyes down. Her cheeks just got redder.

It took a minute for Kip to understand what she was saying. He had heard Ax had a habit of lifting underwear. Had she just been checking her bags to make sure that nothing was missing?

Now he really wished he had punched the other man before Addison stopped him.

"You don't have to sit all the way over there." She said as she sat up more, and nodded to the end of the bed. "I don't think that I'll be able to get much sleep right now." She said as she crossed her legs under the covers.

Kip wasn't sure if this was a good idea, but before he could think about it anymore, he got up and made his way to the end of the bed. He just hoped and prayed that no one walked in and see him. Clay would kill him, he was sure of it.

Looking over to her, he saw something was bothering her, and he was pretty sure it wasn't just Ax. "You know, I'm a good listener." He said, and then felt like kicking himself. "I mean you don't have to, I was just saying that if you wanted to talk, I'd listen." He added. "It just looks like you wanna get something off your chest."

Once the sentence left his mouth, he felt the heat rise to his face. Why did he have to say 'chest'? And then of course his eyes wandered down to her chest, and he thought to himself that they were perfect. They weren't too small or too large. His dad had always told him the perfect boob was one that fit just right in your hand. At the thought of touching them his hands began to sweat again. He quickly looked away from them, and tried to look at anything else in the room.

He had to admit, he was attracted to her. For the last few days, he had been trying to work up the courage to really talk to her, not just the typical '_How are you doing_?' or '_Do you need anything_?' He wanted to get to know _her_. When he noticed how distant she had been, he thought he royally fucked up the night of the patch-in party. All he could remember was taking her to the bar and getting her a beer. The rest was really fuzzy. But he was sure he went back to his room with a girl. When he woke up to an empty bedroom and she didn't say anything when he saw her…

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard her take a deep breath. He looked over to her and saw her playing with a locket hanging from her neck.

"What's that?" He asked, trying to find something to talk about.

She looked at him and then took off the necklace and opened the locket. "My mother," She said as she handed him the locket. He saw a woman who looked just like Addison, but a little older.

"I never knew her. She died when I was just over a year old." She told him as he looked at the two pictures. "I didn't know what had happened to her. My dad never liked to talk about it." She explained to him as she leaned back against the head board.

Kip could see her eyes cloud over. Her pain was evident to him.

"Clay took to me to her grave the day after we got back, and told me what happened." She said, her voice held something in it, but he wasn't sure if it was anger or pain. "I don't know who to be mad at - the club, him, my dad, or the prospect who was supposed to follow her home." She said as she gripped the covers on the bed.

At the mention of a prospect, Kip couldn't help but wonder if it had anything to do with the story Chibs had told him when he first had started prospecting for the club.

Handing her the locket back, he asked in a soft kind voice, "How did she die?"

"Car accident." She replied and then continued, "She was helping out at the clubhouse. Her car needed work, and Clay asked a Prospect to follow her home, but she told the guy to not worry about it. He disobeyed an order to follow her home so he could get laid." She said with a bitter laugh.

"Shit." He said then ran his hand through his shaggy blond hair.

"Clay just said that they dealt with him, but didn't tell me what happened to the Prospect. I just hope that he isn't a full member now." She said, as she fiddled with the edge of the blanket.

"He's not." Kip said as she looked up at him. He held her eyes for a few minutes. He knew that he was told to never to repeat what he had been told, but with the knowledge that it involved her mother, he felt like she needed to know.

"When I first started to prospect, Chibs warned me to never disobey an order, no matter which Son gave it to me." He said as he leaned over, resting his elbows on his knees. "He told me a story about what Clay and some others did to a Prospect that didn't do what he was told. He said that someone very close to the club died in a car accident." He looked up to see Addison's reaction.

She had leaned forward, unable to voice her need to know more.

"They beat him within an inch of his life. Then because he had been _focused_ elsewhere, they thought that it would be best if they removed the problem." He said.

"What did they do?" She asked not fully understanding what he was trying to tell her.

"They cut his dick off." He said bluntly.

Addison gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.

"They dropped him off at the hospital. Actually, I hear they tossed him out of a moving van." Kip continued. "He's still alive, last they knew. Chibs said that he is paralyzed from the neck down. They didn't want to kill him, wanted him to live, wanted to make sure that he would never forget."

Kip ran his hand through his hand again and finished, "I always thought it was a story just to scare new prospects or something. Shit." Then, he looked over and saw Addison holding back tears.

"Hey, it's okay," he said as he scooted over and pulled her in close to him, to let her cry. He then lifted his other hand to lightly rub up and down her back. He was pretty sure he was crossing a line here, but she looked like she needed the comfort. The scent of her shampoo was tickling his nose and he couldn't help but enjoy the feeling of her warm body close to his. He knew that his hormones were to blame, but he couldn't stop himself.

"Shh…it's okay, let it out." He said to her, still rubbing her back. She pulled back to wipe away her tears, and he couldn't help but admire how beautiful she was. Even filled with tears, her eyes still held a glow to them. Before he could think about it, he tilted her chin up, leaned in and kissed her lips softly.

After about a split second, he realized what he was doing, and who he was doing it with, and he pulled back abruptly. He rubbed the back of his neck. Shit, what the hell had he been thinking?

"I'm sorry," He said. When he looked at her again, she looked shocked. "Shit," he said. He remembered what she had said when they first met. She never really had any friends. He was pretty sure she never had a boyfriend or dated even. She had probably never been kissed before. Fuck, he said he was her first friend and look what he did. He hoped against hope that this wouldn't ruin their friendship.

"I..." She started to say.

Was she mad at him for taking her first kiss?

Looking at the door, he knew that it was time to leave. He didn't want this to get any more awkward and he wanted to save their friendship. He was about to stand up, when he felt her come closer. Turning to see what she was doing, he wasn't ready for her lips to meet his again, but he wasn't about to push her away.

He brought one hand to cup her cheek; the other held her behind her neck. He enjoyed the taste of her lips. His brain must have stopped working because the next thing he knew she was lying down on the bed and he had crawled on top of her. Once her head landed on the pillow, he removed his hand from her cheek and moved it down her small body. He left the other hand behind her neck.

With his eyes closed, he took in the sensations of what his hand was feeling. Her skin was soft to the touch and he knew that she had never been touched like this. He wanted to enjoy it, but he didn't want to scare her, either.

He couldn't contain his moan, as she arched her body up. He knew that this wasn't right, the timing was the absolute worst, but he couldn't stop. He slid his hand under her tank top. His heart beat faster as he found the soft skin of her breast. As his thumb lightly brushed her nipple, he heard her moan as she arched up into him again.

His shorts had become more then uncomfortable, and since they were so thin he was pretty sure she could feel his arousal through the soft fabric. Pulling his mouth away from hers, he propped himself up so he could look at her. She was beautiful.

He didn't want to do push her into anything, so as he started to slide up her tank, to reveal her breasts that he so badly wanted to kiss, he asked, "Is…is this alright?" He wanted to make sure that they were both on the same page.

Her blue eyes opened and she whispered, "Oh, it's just…I've never..." She turned her head away as the blush crept onto her face.

Shit! Those two words had the effect of being drenched in ice cold water. She was a virgin and he had just been about to take that from her. He sat up, pulling himself away from her. Once again he ran his hands over his face and head. He knew this was a bad idea. He knew that she had never been kissed. He had just taken that from her. He wasn't about to pop her cherry too.

She sat back up and pulled her shirt down. "I'm sorry." She said in a quiet voice.

Sorry? Why the hell was she sorry?

"You have nothing to be sorry about. I should be the one saying sorry." He said rubbing his face. He looked over to her and saw that she had withdrawn into herself. He was afraid that if he left now, she would eventually fall apart and their friendship would be over. What he did next would set the tone of their relationship, and he didn't want to lose her as a friend. He wanted, needed, to be there for her.

Taking a deep breath, he stood up and readjusted himself. Once he was sure that he could manage his urges, he looked back down to the bed and said, "Scoot over."

Once she moved over, he laid down next to her, on top of the covers. "Get some sleep," he said as he turned off the lamp on the nightstand. As he flung his right arm over his eyes and thought about how he wasn't going to get his workout after all, he felt her hand reach for his left one. As her hand tentatively covered his, he responded, by threading his fingers through hers.

It was going to be a long morning and he didn't expect to get much sleep.

_** SOA**_

He must have eventually dozed off, because the next thing he knew, there was a load thunderous sound of Harleys coming down the road. He sat up and looked down to see that Addison was waking up as well. He stood up to let her get out of bed. "You should get dressed. It sounds like Hap and the Tacoma boys are here."

He watched her nod and then disappear into bathroom.

_** SOA**_

Pulling into the parking lot, Happy was glad to be back with his other brothers. As much as it had felt good to get back on his bike and ride, his leg was stinging just a bit. It wasn't enough to make him limp, but it was enough to make think about the pain, and enough to piss him off.

Getting off his Harley he was greeted by Tig and Chibs as they walked out of the clubhouse.

Yeah it felt good to be back in California.

_**Authors Notes:**_ Wow, we hope that you all enjoyed this chapter, it made both of us sick working on it! And yes, Happy is back! We are working on the next chapter, and it should be out next weekend. We would love to hear what you all thought of the chapter, so please let us know.


	17. Chapter 17

_** Authors Notes:**_ As promised, this chapter sees the return of Happy

Also, we based our definition of Quinn's patches from the following link: http: /en dot wikipedia dot org/wiki/Happy_(Sons_of_Anarchy)

However, Happy's patches as described in Chapter 4 are as seen from the Season 2 episodes of the show.

_** Thank you to:**_ CalmOne, ShiloCoulter, justrae9903, FunnyMick, burpie, angelbuni, Duvet, FlyGirl2684, jmhan, Angel N Darkness, ejopp, Wicked in Boston, ThisLife 103.7, CtLady, ozlady80, Running-Wild22, leeseelee, HermioneandMarcus, Meg Pairrer, and The Candy Spooky Theater, for all reviewing and letting us know in detail what you think about that story up to this point.

_** Born to Die**_

_** Chapter SEVENTEEN**_

_** Written By:**_ Dannimitchell85 and Kaylalong

Keeping his emotions under lock and key had become second nature, so when Happy saw the worn looking leather cut, the one that Quinn had worn as his battle armor for over thirty years, he kept an ironclad grip on the pain clutching at his chest. He was the Son that kept it together, no matter what. He wasn't about to lose his shit now.

He took a moment to study the cut as it lay on the carved redwood table. They couldn't have picked a better place to have the make shift viewing. Normally the church room would be off limits to non-members and the doors would never be open like this, but Clay took a vote, and everyone in the Redwood crew voted in favor for the room to be opened up as one last show of respect to their fallen brother. Tig and Hammer had taken up sentry duty at the doors, keeping their eyes on the room.

Only Sons, family, and close friends were allowed at the memorial. All the croweaters and hangarounds had been told to find somewhere else to spend the night. Gemma had made it very clear that there would be no pussy tonight. Happy wasn't sure how his brothers felt about that, but this was for Quinn.

Surrounding Quinn's cut were pictures and candles, which added ambiance to the dark room. One of the pictures that stood out to Happy, looked to be taken long ago. The color had faded, but the joy on Quinn's face was evident. He was straddling his Harley, as a stunning blonde, his wife Lily, stood next to him with one arm draped across his shoulders. In his arms, Quinn cradled his little girl, Addison.

Taking a deep breath he pulled his eyes away from the once happy family and he looked down at the patches that adorned the front panels of the leather cut. On the left side, under 'Nomad', was the 'Men of Mayhem' patch, worn by those who had served time for the club. On the right side, was the rare 'Unholy Ones' patch. Happy himself wore that patch as well. It was one that not every member strived to obtain. Many of the members didn't have the stomach to earn that patch. Happy understood killing was, at times, a necessity. Personally, he enjoyed the thrill of the hunt, but he also dealt with the demons that came with that thrill. He had a handle on it. That's why the club called upon him to do their dirty work.

Pulling himself out of his musings, Happy was glad to see that Bobby had replaced Quinn's 'President' patch. It just wasn't the same cut without it.

Rubbing his hand over his tattooed head, he took a deep breath and turned to walk out of the church room, allowing others and say their last farewells. His leg was doing much better now, but if he stood on it too long, his muscles would start to pinch. To keep pressure off of it and let the wound heal properly, Happy favored his right leg when he walked, causing a bit of a limp.

Making his way back out to the main room, he headed towards the end of the bar to sit down. As he made his way through the mass of Sons, he overheard a few conversations. Most were sharing stories of how Quinn had saved their asses, something that he himself had firsthand knowledge of.

Other conversations were about the young daughter Quinn had left behind. Other than a handful of people, no one had known about Addison. Most were shocked to learn that Quinn even had a daughter.

Speaking of which, Happy spotted Addison at the other end of the bar, holding what looked like an empty shot glass in her hand. She looked absolutely exhausted. This was not the young woman he had met two weeks ago. This wasn't even the same young woman he saw leave Tacoma. He had noticed Addison's looks early on, how could he not? She certainly took after her mother. She was practically the spitting image of the stunning blonde in the photograph.

But looking at her now, the events of the last three weeks must have taken their toll. She looked absolutely haggard. Her eyes had a haunted look to them and there were dark bags underneath. This was not just the mourning of a lost father. Something else was obviously bothering her. What more could possibly have happened after Alaska?

Happy stayed where he was at his end of the bar and accepted a drink from the newly patched Half-Sack. He took the drink with a nod and watched as Gemma went over to sit down next to Addison.

_**SOA**_

It was as if she was trapped in the middle of a whirlwind. Everything seemed to be moving around her, as if independent from her, like she was here but not here. Addison was fighting to keep a tight hold on her emotions. She didn't want anyone to worry about her, but really she just wanted to get this day over with.

The combination of everything that had happened finally hit her. She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs in release. But instead she found herself downing a shot of some kind of amber liquid and hoped that would give her strength.

She made a face, as the liquid burned its way down her throat, but she didn't care. With all the stress she had been under, she was hoping that the alcohol would help her calm down. She was willing to deal with the awful taste if it worked.

Looking around, she saw Kip at the other end of the bar giving Happy a drink. He had left her room this morning before she came out of the bathroom. They barely saw each other all day, let alone have time to talk. She knew that sooner or later she was going to have to deal with what almost happened between them last night, but now wasn't the time.

Pulling her eyes away from the young member, she continued to look around. There were bouquets of flowers throughout the room, from charters that could not attend the memorial, but wanted to send their wishes. Food was laid out on a long table adjacent to the bar and everywhere she looked, there were men wearing cuts, talking in low tones. Gemma and Jax had taken her around earlier to introduce her to the other Sons. Condolences were given, some hugs were exchanged. Almost none of it registered. Addison barely even remembered who she met.

She still wasn't sure how she felt about everything, but the more she looked around, the more she saw the family that her father had kept her from. Everyone here seemed to know one another, and she was beginning to feel out of place again. She closed her eyes and took a deep calming breath, trying to keep the walls from closing in on her.

She wanted to forgive her father, for not telling her about what happened to her mother, for keeping her away from the people who could have provided her support while growing up, but she was still angry. However, if she allowed herself to admit it, underneath all the anger and hurt, the truth was Addison really missed him. He was the only family she ever knew. But then, that just made her angrier. He knew something like this could have happened. Yet, he kept her away from those she would end up calling upon for help. None of this made any sense to her.

Opening her eyes, she looked over and saw Clay talking to Bear and Stone in a corner. Once in a while other Sons would walk up and shake Stone's hand, welcoming him as the new President of the Nomad charter she was sure.

She saw Elli very briefly when she arrived this morning. She had asked quickly how she was doing and given her an envelope containing the keys related to the safe deposit boxes that Juice found on her dad's laptop. He had given her the names and locations of the banks that morning as well. Addison told Elli that she was fine before put the envelope and bank information in her room for safe keeping. She didn't really want to talk at the time. When she came back to the main room, she didn't see much of Elli for the rest of the day. Now the older woman was over in another corner talking to women from other charters.

Bull and Cooler where standing guard by the main doors to the clubhouse. Most of the Sons were inside, so one door was propped open with Bull standing on the outside, while Cooler kept an eye on the inside. Now that she thought about it, with Bull and Cooler at the main door and Hammer standing at his self appointed post by the church room, the Nomads were like the protectors of the club. They never let down their guard, and were always looking out for their fellow brothers.

She felt a tap on her shoulder and looked over to see Gemma.

"How you holdin' up?" She asked as she sat down on the stool beside Addison. She couldn't help but admire the older woman. Even with everything going on, she was cool, calm, and collected. She looked amazing and Addison didn't see a hair out of place.

"I'm ready for this day to be over," Addison told her. She didn't see a reason to lie.

"Hell," Gemma said, nodding in agreement. Then she pulled a rolled up joint from her pocket and placed it between her lips. She brought up a lighter and once lit; she took a long pull from it, and then handed it over to Addison.

"Oh, I don't smoke." Addison said as she held up her hand.

"I didn't ask you if you wanted it, I'm giving it to you." Gemma said with a tone that left little to argue with. "Now take a good long drag."

Taking the joint from the older woman, she lifted it to her lips and inhaled deeply as instructed, only to cough almost violently as the burning hot ash hit her lungs. She looked over to see Gemma giving her an approving nod, and then she took the joint back and took another hit herself.

It took Addison a few minutes to get the coughing under control, but once she finally did, she was starting to feel a bit lighter. She didn't know if it was the effect of the joint, the alcohol, or a combination of both.

They sat there for a while longer in silence until she heard someone whistle suddenly. She and Gemma turned around to see Clay holding a full shot glass in his left hand, standing on top of the platform in front of the stripper pole.

The room quieted down quickly as everyone waited for Clay to speak.

Addison could see that he was fighting to keep his emotions in check, and then with a deep breath, he began.

"Thank you to all those who made the long trip here to help us say our final goodbye to Quinn," Clay said as he looked down and paused. "I know that I'm not the only one who is going to miss that son of a bitch, and I know that Stone has some enormous shoes to fill." He said as he looked over to the new Nomad President. A few members who had been standing near Stone either nodded or patted him on the back.

"Quinn was more than just a fellow brother. He was dedicated to the club, someone you could trust to have your back, always."

Murmurs of 'Yeah' could be heard throughout the room.

"Back when he first joined the club, he used to say, _'We are all born to die. It's up to each one of us to make it as hard as hell for death to find us.'_ And he kept his word." Clay said. Everyone nodded their heads.

"Here's to Quinn," Clay lifted up his glass. "To the best fucking bastard the Sons ever knew. And to a beloved brother."

Everyone held up their drinks, and looking down, Addison saw that Gemma had somehow refilled her empty glass.

"You better drink to your father's memory." Gemma said as she downed her own shot.

Knowing that it was a sign of disrespect to not drink to a toast, Addison quickly took the shot, once more feeling the burning heat as it made its way down her throat.

_**SOA**_

Happy put down his glass after downing the shot in Quinn's honor. He looked over to see Addison had finished one of her own as well. With two shots and the hit Gemma gave her earlier, he knew she was probably going to be sick pretty soon.

He shook his head when he saw Addison take a hit off Gemma's joint. He knew from their trip to Alaska that she wasn't a smoker. Then again, seeing how worn out she looked, she might want to consider taking up smoking as an escape. It was one of the few ways that he himself knew how to take the edge off.

When Happy focused back on the present, he saw Addison making her way to the main doors that led outside. Looking around he didn't see anyone following her. Gemma was no longer at the bar and he didn't see Elli anywhere. So, grabbing a beer and a bottle of water, Happy made his way to follow her. There were two sick fuckers after her. They'd be stupid to try anything tonight, but he wasn't about to take that chance. He promised to avenge Quinn's death. He wasn't going to let anything happen to his daughter.

Nodding to Cooler on his way out, Happy spotted Addison making her way to the weathered table about twenty feet from the main door. He stayed by the door and leaned against the wall, shifting so as to take the weight off his bad leg as he stood next to Bull.

He kept his distance from Addison. He didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable, but made sure that he was still in range in case something happened.

"Bull," Happy said as he turned around and nodded in greeting.

Bull nodded back, "Hap," as he readjusted his stance. Looking down, Happy could see that the other Nomad was looking at his leg.

"So, killer, you gonna tell me what the hell happened to your leg?" Bull asked him as he crossed his arms over his chest

Happy didn't turn to face Bull as he kept his eyes on Addison. Out of all the Nomads Bull was one of the most perceptive. However, he didn't want to get into what happened in Alaska, so he just shrugged and took another sip of his beer.

"Oh, okay, you do your whole scary silent thing." Bull said as he brushed his hand over his spiky mohawk. "Because I heard from a little birdie, that you took a knife to your leg. But could've been a lot worse if that," Bull pointed over to Addison, "tiny young woman hadn't warned you."

Then Bull raised both hands in surrender, "But it's cool, killer. You don't have to tell me what happened."

Happy snorted and asked, "This birdie by chance have a couple of busted ribs?" He should have known that Cooler couldn't keep his mouth shut.

Bull just shrugged as he hooked his thumbs in his belt loops.

"How're your sisters?" Happy asked, trying to change the topic. If there was one thing that he hated the most, it was people knowing his weak spots, whether physical or emotional.

"Shit man, I had to break a guy's fucking hand for getting fresh with one of them. Knew that line of work was a bad idea." Bull said as he shook his head. "Not that I have much say in what they do. They fuckin' gang up on me all the time. Five against one ain't fair!"

"I'll back you up." Happy said with a smirk. He didn't mind those kinds of odds.

"Yeah, I'm sure you would, asshole." Bull responded with a huff. "Until the lights go dim and you see them at work. Then your dick takes over and I'll hafta breaking _your_ fucking hands."

"Ain't my fault you let your sisters strip." Happy shot back as he glanced over at Bull. He took another drink of his beer and looked back to Addison.

"They are not strippers." Bull said in a low dangerous tone. "They are Vegas showgirls." He said in defense. "Most of the time anyways." He muttered under his breath.

Happy only grinned and kept his attention on Addison and watched her just sit there, with her arms wrapped around herself to ward off the chill in the air. It wasn't that cold, not to him, but he could see that it was getting to her. The sun had set, so it would only be a matter of time before it really cooled off.

He stood up straighter as he saw her jump up from the bench and rush away from the door near the tree. He didn't need to guess what she was doing when he saw her hunched over. He knew she would get sick.

"Whoa," Bull said as he stood up straighter and leaned forward away from the wall. "She gonna be okay?" He asked as he pointed over to Addison.

Finishing off his beer, Happy pushed off the wall and made his way over. He said to Bull over his shoulder, "Got it covered," as he showed him the bottle of water. Then Happy tossed his empty bottle in a trash can on his way over to Addison.

_**SOA**_

Addison had come outside to get some air, hoping it would calm the sick feeling in her stomach, but the only thing the cool air did was force her to throw up. The mixture of oil, gas and other fumes from auto shop didn't help her nausea.

She had managed to make it to the other side of the tree before everything came up. She hoped that when everything was out of her system, she would feel better, but no such luck. Actually, now she felt worse. Her throat burned and her muscles hurt. And there was an acidic taste in her mouth that was so foul that she thought that she was going to vomit again.

As she tried to straighten up, she heard someone coming up behind her. Before she could turn around to see who it was, she heard that telltale raspy voice.

It was Happy.

"Rinse out your mouth." He said as he held out a bottle of water for her as she turned around. "Then drink the rest."

She took the bottle from him and twisted the top off. Turning back around, she took some of the water and rinsed her mouth, making sure to get everything. Then she spit out the water and wiped the dribble from her chin.

When she turned around to thank Happy, she saw he was now standing by the table lighting up a cigarette. She wanted to thank him, so taking a breath, she started walking towards him.

Before she got him however, she saw him lean back to looking in the direction of the front gate. Then he walked over and disappeared around the corner of the building.

She continued walking and nodded to Bull as she passed him. As she made her way to the other side of the building, she saw him leaning against the wall smoking and looking out towards the gate. She looked at him for a minute, making sure it'd be okay to approach him.

In the dim lights of the parking lot, Happy was like a dark solid statue. He was wearing a black long sleeve shirt underneath his cut, dark baggy jeans, a nice contrast against his wallet chain. His left knee was bent, with the sole of his foot flat against the side of the building.

She took a chance and walked up to him as he took an inhale of his cigarette. "Thank you," she said, "for the water." She held up the bottle and saw him nod.

Addison watched him blow out a cloud of smoke and she tried not to cringe. Then he switched the cigarette to his right hand, away from her, and for that she was grateful. She wasn't sure if she could stand being surrounded by the smell of cigarette after just vomiting.

Now that she felt a little better and he didn't seem to mind company, she decided to join Happy. She knew there would not be much talking from this Nomad. His silence actually made her feel comfortable. He didn't ask stupid questions, didn't talk, and just his presence gave her a sense of calm. Taking a soothing breath, she leaned on the wall next to him.

They stood there in silence as Happy just smoked his cigarette, making sure to blow the smoke away from her. After a few minutes, she heard a shuffling sound and looked over to see him readjusting his injured leg.

"Is your leg still bothering you?" She asked.

Happy just glanced over as he narrowed his eyes, then shook his head.

"I'm sorry." She said as she looked down to the ground. "I didn't want anyone to get hurt because of me."

"Don't worry about it." Happy replied without looking at her. "Just protectin' our own."

"You said that before." Addison said, as she looked down at her booted feet. "It's just…I don't feel like I belong here." She wasn't expecting him to reply, and that was just fine by her. It felt good to just let it out.

"I feel so out of place." She added. Sure she didn't look out of place, with her low-waist jeans, clingy black long sleeve top, and biker boots, but she felt as if she stuck out like a sore thumb.

As expected, Happy didn't respond. He took another drag of his cigarette and turned his head toward the gate as he blew out the smoke.

Addison didn't know what it was about Happy, but she felt she could be honest with him. "You know most of the guys in there didn't even know I existed? I know my dad loved me, but why did keep me from all this? He loved the club, why didn't he include me?" Addison asked as tilted her head back and rested it against the wall.

She wasn't expecting an answer from Happy, so she was slightly startled when he responded. "Why you gotta know why?" He asked as he took another hit from his cigarette and looked over to the gate again. She turned to look at him, wondering if he would say anything else.

"All you hafta know is he cared." Then Happy turned to look at her. "You turned out ok. Could've been a crack whore or some shit."

Then he took a long drag from his smoke and turned back to look at the gate.

Addison turned back around to look down at the ground in front of her. She wasn't sure what to make of that. Happy didn't talk much, but when he did, it seemed he didn't sugar coat anything. She thought about what he said. How would it have been if her father hadn't kept her away from the club, if he hadn't taken so much care in raising her by himself?

Here she was lamenting about not growing up in the club, not knowing any Sons, but what if she had? She thought about Gemma giving her the joint and the shot. Would Gemma still have done that if she were younger? How different a person would she have been if she had grown up in the middle of croweaters and sweetbutts? What would she have done if she met Ax at a younger age?

Thinking back to her conversation with Elli, she had said that these guys lived a hard life, but what about their old ladies and children? Their lives must be just as hard, to live and grow up with these men, in this life. Addison didn't think she would have grown up to be a crack whore necessarily, but certainly she would have been a different person. Would that have been a good thing?

As it had been for the last few weeks, Addison had more questions than answers. But tonight was the first time she even considered the other side of the story.

She decided asking more questions would not get her anywhere tonight. Still looking down at the ground, she said, "I can't believe he's really gone. It just didn't seem real until now." Deep down, a part of her was hoping this was all a nightmare. Maybe all these questions were her way of trying to convince herself this wasn't real.

"What happens to me now?" She thought out loud as she tilted her head back against the wall.

When she didn't hear anything, she turned around and saw that Happy was now staring at the gate. Wanting to know what had his attention, she leaned forward to try and look around him.

"Don't move." He said as he reached his arm out to stop her.

_**SOA**_

Keeping his eyes fixed on the gate; Happy couldn't help but notice the dark colored van that was parked across the street. He could have sworn that it had been farther away just a few minutes ago.

Straightening up to get a better look without giving himself away, he tried to see if anyone was inside. With the soft lights from the street lamps, it was easy to tell that the windows where tinted, meaning only one thing.

Whoever was driving it, didn't want anyone looking inside.

He felt Addison start to lean forward. Assuming she was trying to look around him, he reached out to stop her.

"Don't move." He said as he kept his arm between them so whoever was in the van couldn't see. He wasn't about to tip anyone off.

He looked over to her and saw the worried look on her face. "Tell Bull to get over here. Then get inside." He said as he looked back up to the gate. "And don't look back."

He turned back around to watch her walk away and then waited for her to turn the corner before he looked back at the gate. A minute later Bull walked up towards him. "What's up man?" The shorter man asked as he rolled his shoulders.

Keeping his eyes on the van, Happy jutted his chin out slightly and replied. "Van keeps creepin' closer."

Bull looked over and then said, "Well then maybe we should go over and see if they need any help." Bull said as he rubbed his hands together. "It would be the right thing to do, after all." He said, with a smile.

Taking one last hit off his cigarette, Happy sneered and then dropped it to the ground to snuff it out while readjusting his jeans. As he looked back up, he looked over Bull's shoulder and saw Cooler coming around the corner. Happy held up his hand and Cooler stopped and nodded.

Then he and Bull walked towards the gate. Their wallet chains swung with each step as they both walked with confident strides towards to the gate. The gate was closed, but the chain link fence was not pulled.

Right as they made it to the gate, the headlights on the van turned on, and Happy could hear the engine roar to life.

"Fuck!" He spit out as he quickly jumped away from the gate. He looked to see the van pull away from the curb and head right for the gate.

"Get back!" He yelled to Bull.

They both ran away from the gate as the van slammed into it, pushing the gate halfway down. Once he saw that the gate had stopped the van from entering all the way into the lot, Happy turned around just in time to see a man get out of the driver's side and run down the street.

"Get the others!" He yelled to Cooler who was still standing near the side of the building. Then he ran and quickly hopped over the now bashed in gate to take off after the driver. He ignored the shooting pain in his left leg. It was dark, so he couldn't make out what the guy looked like, but he sure as hell wasn't about to let him get away.

Gaining speed, Happy was right on the guy's heels as he took a sharp corner. Happy didn't let up as he chased the guy down the street. He was gaining on him, and knew that it would only be a matter of time before he caught up to the fool.

His lungs burned from the cold air, but he wasn't about to let up. He knew that he shouldn't be pushing himself so hard while he was still healing, but this wasn't the time to 'take it easy'. Someone had just tried to run a van into their shop while they were mourning the loss of a brother. That wasn't something any one of them would let slide by.

Happy felt a car speed past him, and saw it slam on its brakes right next to the man he was chasing.

'_Fuck no!'_ Happy thought as he stopped and pulled out his gun. There was no way that he was going to let this guy get away.

Taking aim, he was about to pull the trigger when another car pulled out in front of him, blocking his target.

A guttural sound surged from Happy's throat as he pulled back his Glock, knowing that he wouldn't be able to make the shot.

The sound of Harleys rumbled up behind him. Happy hopped on the back of one, not even paying attention to the Son riding it and shouted at them to follow what looked like an older model blue Honda.

"Fucker jumped in the Honda, GO!" He yelled as he kept his gun in hand for when they caught up to the asshole.

_**SOA**_

Once she turned the corner, Addison walked quickly over to Bull. "Um, Bull? Happy says he needs you to go over to him. I think there's something going on outside the gate." She told him.

"Yeah? Okay, get inside." Bull responded in a serious tone as he walked away.

She wanted to know what was going on, but she didn't want to piss off Happy by not doing what he had told her, so she walked into the clubhouse.

"Addison, what's wrong?" Cooler asked as she stepped inside the clubhouse. He was looking over her shoulder to see Bull walking away.

"I don't know." Addison replied. "Happy was looking at something outside the gate and then told me to get inside."

Cooler looked alarmed. "Go tell Clay," he told her as he walked outside the door to follow Bull.

She made her way through the crowd of Sons to get to Clay. She almost made it to her uncle when she heard a loud noise from outside. The sound of metal crashing was so loud that everyone heard it.

Everything stopped and it didn't take long for Stone and Clay to make their way to the door, with the others following them.

She was about to follow as well, to see what had happened, but felt a hand on her shoulder stopping her.

"Hey, better let them make sure it's safe." Turning around, Addison saw Elli behind her. "You should stay in here." Elli said as she gave her a soft smile, although there was a look of concern in her eyes.

Addison looked around and noticed that most of the Sons had gone outside. Only a few stayed inside with the non-members.

Addison heard a lot of shouting, and then the sound of bikes revving to life. Something was going on, and she hoped that Happy hadn't gotten hurt again.

_**SOA**_

Outside, Clay was looking at the damage. Bobby had turned up the outdoor lights, and once they flooded the parking lot, everyone could see what had caused the noise.

"What the fuck?" Tig asked as he walked up behind Clay.

"What the hell happened?" Clay asked no one in particular.

"Someone rammed through the gate. Hap took off after the driver." Bull answered.

"Shit." Clay said as he rubbed his face. "Get that fence cleared! Someone go cover Hap's back!" He ordered.

He looked over in time to see Bull and Tig hop on their bikes, and take off through the opening that some of the others were able to make through the damaged fence. Juice and Cooler followed closely behind.

Others were looking the van over, making sure that there wasn't anyone still inside.

"Clay, you need to see this, brother." Chibs said. "Found it in the front seat."

Clay walked over to Chibs to see him holding a piece of paper. He knew it wasn't an accident that someone would ram a van through their fence the day of Quinn's memorial.

He took the paper and took a deep breath to prepare himself for what it may contain. He looked it over several times to comprehend what it meant.

'_You can't hide her away from us forever.'_

"Shit!" Clay roared in an extremely angry voice. He turned around and looked right at Hammer. "Get Addison into her room. Don't let her out of your sight." He said as he was trying to control the rage that was taking over.

"And clear this shit up!" He yelled as he turned back around to head into the clubhouse.

As he passed by Stone, he gave him the note. "I want those fuckers dead!" He said in a low tone that only the two of them could hear. "Beaten, broken, and in a shallow grave. No one threatens my family in my home."

_**Authors Notes:**_ We hope that you enjoyed this more action filled chapter, and know that more is to come! As always we would love to know what you all think about the chapter, so please let us know.

**Thank you for reading!**


	18. Chapter 18

_**Authors Notes:**_ We would like to apologize to you all. This chapter took much longer than we thought it would. As you all know there are two of us working on this story, and 'Real Life' has gotten in the way for both of us.

We also want to let you all know that the next few updates may be slower. But, be rest assured, we are still working on the story, and even have a few new ideas brewing. So please don't worry, we aren't going anywhere!

Also, for the purposes of our story, Cherry (Half-Sack's 'old lady' from Season One) does not exist.

**Born to Die**

**Chapter Eighteen**

**Written By:** DanniMitchell85 and Kaylalong

Exhausted and sore from the combination of stress, lack of sleep, and the fact that she had just vomited less than an hour ago, Addison felt as if she was having an out of body experience. She was witnessing everything going on around her, but she wasn't really part of it. She wanted to know what had happened outside, and she prayed that no one had gotten hurt.

However, there was a problem. Something was preventing her from finding out what had happened. That something was in the shape of a six foot four, two hundred and fifty plus pound Son named Hammer who was standing in front of her door with his arms crossed, staring at her with an impassive look on his face.

They were inside her room. Addison, with her own arms crossed over her chest, stared back at Hammer, who was still blocking the door. They had come to an impasse and Addison was not sure who would fold first.

Shortly after she heard the Harleys take off, Addison looked over to see the clubhouse doors almost ripped open by Hammer, who made a beeline directly towards her. Before she could utter a sound, he wordlessly lifted her up, threw her over his shoulder and carried her off to her room. Once they were both inside, he locked the door behind him and stood in front of it. Not one word was spoken to her, and she wanted to know what was going on.

"Hammer," Addison broke the silence, "I want to know what happened." She told the larger man, holding her ground.

"Clay said to keep you in your room and not to let you out of my sight." Hammer didn't answer her question as he stood steadfast in front of her door, "So you're staying here."

"Then can you at least tell me what this is all about? Did anyone get hurt?" Addison asked as she held her own on her end of the staring contest. He obviously was not going to let her out and it didn't look like he was going to let anyone in. Therefore, he was her best bet of finding out what happened. Unfortunately, he was as stubborn as he was big, and he wasn't talking.

She was about to ask him again when there was a firm knock on the door. Never taking his eyes off her, he called out to see who was on the other side, "Yeah?"

"Hammer, it's Elli, open up." Elli's voice came through from the other side.

Addison watched as he took a deep breath, thinking it over, and then reached behind him to open the door, still not taking his eyes off of her.

Addison watched on as Elli walked into the room, under Hammer's outstretched arm as he held the door open.

"What the hell was that?" She asked the larger man in a rather angry tone. "Addison's a grown woman. There was no need to carry her off like some rag doll!"

Before Hammer could say anything, Elli turned around to look at Addison. "I'm sure it's nothing sweetheart," she reassured. "Clay is probably just over reacting."

Behind Elli, Addison could see that Hammer was about to close the door when a hand reached in from outside and stopped him.

"I don't over react." Clay countered as he walked into the room, sweeping his eyes over the room and then looked over to the large Nomad. "Hammer, watch the door." He ordered, and it was clear that he was in President mode. Addison could see that his jaw was set, and it looked like he was on the verge of snapping at any moment.

Hammer nodded and turned to leave the room, quietly closing the door behind him, only to take up his post on the other side. Addison was sure that he wouldn't let anyone down the hall, much less into the room.

Addison watched as Elli backed up and stood on her right. She must have picked up on the vibe Clay was giving off as well.

"What's going on?" Addison asked. Growing up with her father, she knew that there were some things that Clay couldn't and _shouldn't_ tell her, but she wanted to know, she needed to know. This must have something to do with her. Why else would Hammer grab only her and carry her off to be locked behind her own door.

"As of right now, we are on lockdown." He said.

"Oh, good lord." Elli whispered from beside her.

"Lockdown? Why? What happened?" Addison asked. She had heard about the safety plan that the club implemented in case of danger. He father had been called away many times to help secure other clubhouses. Of course, she had never been involved in one. Something bad must have happened, and there was only one thing that came to mind that would cause her uncle's reaction.

"It's him isn't it?" She asked in a low voice. "The one who killed my dad. The one Happy and I heard on the radio?"

"We don't know that for sure, but right now we just want to make sure everyone's safe." Clay told her. Then she saw him exchange a look with Elli. It was all she needed to know that she was right; that her uncle wasn't telling her everything.

In the past when she had been on the road with her father, there were times when they had to leave a town in a hurry due to some kind of danger. It wasn't anything new to her. But in the past, her father would talk to her. She never questioned him. He wouldn't always tell her everything, but he never kept her locked in a room and in the dark. He would tell her just enough, knowing that the only way to really keep her safe was to make sure she knew what was going on around her.

"But, you're locking me up in this room? Just me?"Addison retorted as she crossed her arms. "For how long?" Addison wanted Clay to know that she was not happy about this arrangement. Why was she being locked in her room? This guy must be coming after her.

Clay stood there for a minute; he readjusted his stance, and took the time to rub his hand over his head. "As long as it takes." He responded in a firm tone. Then he turned around to head towards the door.

"You can't keep me here like a prisoner!" She retorted before Clay made it to the door. She didn't care that she was starting to shake from the lack of food, or the alcohol. She was getting fed up with the way everyone thought that they knew what was best for her.

Clay turned around and walked up to her. "You father told you that if anything happened to him, that you were to come to me, so that I could keep you safe. That's what I'm going to do even if I have to tie you down to keep you locked in here!" She felt the anger radiating off of him, and for some reason it didn't scare her.

"Stop treating me like a child. I need to know what's going on." Addison asked in a loud, but firm even voice. She was tired of everyone treating her like she didn't know any better. Sure, she had been dealing with her own inner turmoil for the last few days, but now her safety and the safety of others was in jeopardy. It was time to deal with this. And to do that, she needed to know the facts.

Clay's anger was clear on his face, and she felt Elli place her hands on her shoulders, trying to calm her down. Without saying anything more, Clay left the room, slamming the door hard as he left.

"Well, you certainly do take after your father." Elli commented as she squeezed her shoulders, then walked over to the door and cracked it open. Addison could hear her talking quietly to Hammer. She thought she heard the words _'woman to woman'_.

Once she was done, Elli turned back around and closed the door behind her. "So you want to tell me what's bothering you?" She asked softly.

Addison sat down on the bed and looked at Elli. She remembered Elli telling her back in Tacoma, that she could talk to her about anything. And as much as she wanted to get a few things off her chest, Addison wasn't sure what good it would do.

Exhaling a deep breath, Addison looked away. "Nothing's bothering me," she evaded. She really didn't want to bother the older woman with her problems.

"Liar." Elli said and crossed her arms as she walked over to stand in front of Addison. "Now tell me what has you so worked up."

"Other than the fact that I'm being kept in this clubhouse like a prisoner, while some crazy psycho who killed my dad is trying to get me for some reason?" Addison spat as she kept her head down and started to rub her temples. A pounding pain had begun to form in her head, and she was sure that her vomiting episode wasn't the last of the effects of the alcohol that she would be dealing with tonight.

"First, you don't know that's what going on." Elli replied as she walked closer to Addison. "And second, no, I mean why do you look like you've been hit by a truck and smell like you've been living on the streets?"

Addison looked up at Elli, trying to feign an innocent look, "I took a shot at the memorial, with everyone else."

"Just one shot?" Elli asked as she tilted her heard. "So I guess I just imagined you taking a hit off that joint?"

Addison put her head in her hands and groaned, "I just wanted the day to be over." She slumped her shoulders and continued. "Gemma saw me and let me take a hit. I only took one." Addison looked back at Elli. "I threw everything up about an hour ago, right before whatever happened outside."

Elli finally uncrossed her arms, as she took a deep breath, and sat down next to Addison. "It was rough tonight, wasn't it? " Elli spoke in a soft voice. "Seeing those pictures, with all those people in there."

Addison just continued to look down. Elli continued, "You sure nothing else is bothering you?" Addison shook her head no.

"Really, because I couldn't help but notice you and that kid that just got patched in were doing your best to avoid each other all day. Back in Tacoma you two seemed to hit it off." Elli pointed out.

Addison looked up at her in shock, "What? We weren't…how?"

Elli smiled, "Call it intuition. You want to talk about it?" She patted Addison's knee softly. "He didn't hurt you, did he? Or push you into anything, because if he…" Elli warned as her voice started to rise slightly.

Addison quickly interrupted her before Elli got too worked up, "No, no, nothing happened." She paused for a minute. "Well…almost nothing happened." She sighed again.

"It might help if you talked about it. This kind of stuff can be confusing, especially if you're new to it." Elli nudged, trying to get Addison to open up a little.

"That's just it. Almost everything that happened after…, well _after my dad…_, has been new to me - the club, the Sons, everything. I'm almost 21 and I just had my first kiss last night!" Addison stopped and covered her mouth with her hand. She couldn't believe she just let that slip out.

"His kissed you?" Elli said with a surprised looked on her face.

Addison looked down again, "Yeah. But then he wanted to leave and I didn't want him to, so I kissed him and then, next thing you know…" She stopped and just looked at the ground.

"What? Addison, if anything…" Elli's tone had a slight hardness to it.

"Nothing happened. We kissed some more and then he stopped it." Addison rubbed her hands through her hair. "He stayed the night, above the covers. Nothing happened. I swear."

Elli was quiet for a moment. Addison thought she was going to leave now that she had told her everything. She really wanted to just lie down. Her headache was getting worse, but then she heard the older woman ask, "I think you need to tell me what happened last night, from the beginning."

Addison sighed again. Maybe it would help to talk to someone about it all. She was keeping so much inside she kept feeling like she wanted to explode. So with a deep calming breath, she took a chance. At this point what else did she have to lose? "I woke up in the middle of the night and Ax and Kip were both in here." She continued to stare at the floor.

"What!" Elli exclaimed in an alarmed voice. "They were both in your room? What the hell for?" Addison was surprised that Hammer hadn't busted the door down.

Addison decided to just tell her the whole story. "Yeah, apparently Ax picked my locks and crept into my room." She turned around and looked at Elli, who sat there tight lipped and then nodded for her to continue. "I guess Kip saw the open door and was trying to get him out when I woke up."

"Do you know what was Ax doing in here?" Elli asked her flat out.

It took Addison a minute to put into words what she was going to tell Elli. "Umm, he was watching me sleep." She almost whispered. She knew that she did nothing wrong, but she felt like it was her fault. She was sure that there was something that she could have done to prevent it. She just didn't know what it was at the moment.

"He was what?" Elli sounded outraged as she sat up straighter. "He didn't touch you did he?" She asked.

That notion never crossed Addison's mind and she wrapped her arms around herself at the thought of Ax running his hands over her while she slept. It gave her shivers, and not good ones. What if he had touched her? What if Kip didn't come in till later, or at all?

Shaking her head, she knew that she couldn't let her thoughts go down that path. "No, I don't think so."

"Are you sure? Because if you think there was even a possibility…"

"No, I'm pretty sure. Hammer warned me when I first met him. I tried to keep my distance, but..." The feeling that this was her fault was coming back strong and she tried to change the subject. She took a much needed breath before she continued. "Clay told me about what happened to my mother, how she died."

"Oh, sweetheart." Elli's voice was low and soothing as she reached over and rubbed Addison's back.

"I talked to Kip about it, and then the next thing I know I was starting to cry." She stopped to rub her nose. "He was so nice. He just held me." She paused for a moment and then in a soft whisper, "and then he kissed me," she said.

When Addison looked up she saw a faraway look in Elli's eyes for a second. Then she focused back on Addison. "And you sure nothing happened?"

"No but," Addison started to fiddle with the edge of her blanket cover.

"But what?" Elli inquired.

Again, in a soft whisper, Addison confessed, "I think I wanted something to happen." Before Elli could interrupt, she continued. "I mean, we were just kissing and then I was lying on the bed and he was on top me. He was touching me and it just felt like everything disappeared, all the pain, the anger, the fear, everything. It was just him and me. It felt so good. I didn't want him to stop."

Elli was quiet for a long moment. "Well, I'm glad he showed the good sense to stop."

"What? What do you mean?" Addison asked.

"Addison, I know this all overwhelming and confusing right now. But you were not ready to have sex with a guy you just met two weeks ago after your very first kiss ever on the same night." Elli stated firmly.

Addison deflated. She knew Elli was right. It was just Kip was so nice. He was the only one that seemed to see her as her. To him, she wasn't just Quinn's daughter. And she felt so free with him. She really didn't want him to stop last night.

"And I know he's cute and sweet, but with these guys…there's a lot of free pussy around here." Elli said carefully.

"But, Kip's not like that, is he?" Addison asked in a surprised tone. "I mean, we're friends. And he's been so nice to me." She hadn't thought about it, but then Elli's words caused her to remember the croweater that gave her the strange look at Kip's patch-in party. He wasn't like that, was he?

Before her brain started to run down a path she didn't want to follow, Elli spoke up. "When it comes to you, I don't think so. And he does seem like a sweet guy. I know it felt nice, and I understand about all the pain going away, but be careful." Then Elli placed her hand on Addison's shoulder. "Listen, you're an adult and this isn't some after-school special, but sex isn't just a physical act. It's an emotional one too. I just don't want to see you get hurt"

Addison didn't respond. She just rubbed her face with her hand.

Elli squeezed her on the shoulder, "Let me go find you something to eat and see if I can find a little bit more of what's going on. Okay?"

Addison just nodded as Elli got up and left the room.

_**SOA **_

They rode hard and fast, and Happy took the opportunity to give his left leg a rest. He didn't know what more this night would bring, but he knew that he would push himself past his limits to make sure that they caught whoever was responsible for disrespecting Quinn's memorial.

He had jumped on behind Tig, and they rode next to Cooler, with Bull, and Juice following. There was no way that they could let the fuckers get away, and he was glad that he had his brothers to watch his back.

Holding onto the left shoulder of Tig, he kept his right arm down, with a firm grip on his Glock that was at the ready. He didn't want to shoot; dead men don't talk, but he wasn't about to let them get away either. If it came to it, he would pull the trigger. The car had left the main street and was now driving out of Charming. Happy thought that it was a dumbass move on their part. The road leading out of Charming was pretty deserted without a lot of traffic.

"Get alongside them!" Happy yelled out over the rush of the wind. Tig only nodded and sped up to bypass a car. Waving to his brothers, Happy signaled them to surround the car, boxing it in so that they could force it off the road.

As they pulled up to the driver's side, Happy pulled up his gun, and busted through the window with the butt of his Glock. Glass shattered all over the driver, causing him to lose control of the car for a split second.

Aiming his Glock at the driver, Happy ordered, "Pull the fuck over!"

It didn't take long for the driver to comply, and once the car was off the main road and onto the shoulder, the passenger door flung open and the man who had crashed into the gate jumped out of the car and started running. Juice, not slowing down, rode up next to the running man and kicked out a booted foot, causing him to fall and stumble onto the ground. Using his bike, Juice forced the man back over to the car.

Knowing that they couldn't interrogate these guys while on the side of the road, Happy got off Tig's bike and opened the back door of the Honda. Never taking his gun off the driver, he waited for the other man, who was being herded back by Juice, to return.

"Get in." Happy commanded in a dangerous tone.

The man shook his head, and mumbled about his family. Happy didn't want to waste any more time. Luckily Cooler came over and shoved the man back into the car. Once inside, Happy nudged the driver with the tip of his gun. "Follow him," as he pointed his gun towards the front windshield where he could see Tig riding in front of the car. Then Happy shoved the gun back into the driver's shoulder. They were going to get some answers.

_**SOA**_

Sitting at the head of the redwood table, Clay couldn't tear his eyes away from the cut that still lay on top of the table.

After he had left Addison's room, he hadn't been in the mood to deal with all the questions, so he called an emergency church meeting for just the senior officers. He briefed them on everything that had happened and explained who they were dealing with.

After Clay was done, Kozik asked, "You think Hap and the others got them? The brothers?"

Holding the note that was found in the van, Clay said, "Doubt it. Unfortunately these fuckers are smarter than this. But let's hope they give us a decent lead."

"Shit," Koz said as he rubbed his face and cracked his knuckles.

"Stone, you got the list of names I gave you?" Clay asked Stone at the other end of the table.

Stone answered, "Yeah, Juice's been helping me looking into them."

"Good. I want you and the Nomads to handle this. Get the intel from Hap when he gets back." Clay tapped his middle finger against the wooden table. "Do whatever you need to do. I want these fucking bastards found."

"I'll get Ax and Twitch on it." Stone affirmed.

"Twitch?" Bear spoke up. "Isn't he the head case?"

"That's an understatement," Stone snorted. "The man is convinced that someone is always shadowing him. He swears that the government is watching his every move, and is so paranoid that he rarely speaks out loud, or writes anything down." Stone told the others with a bit of humor in his voice. "But all that makes him the best damn tracker we have. He's good at covering tracks too. Once Ax finds out who is behind all the bloodshed, it'll only take Twitch a few days before he sniffs them out."

"Then we can end this." Clay finished, leaning back in his chair. He didn't like the thought of these fucking bastards openly attacking them. It showed that they weren't afraid, something that he was going to correct.

_**SOA**_

Putting two slices of bread into the toaster, Elli thought about Addison. The poor girl was dealing with so much right now that it was a wonder she was able to function. She could tell Addison was at her limit. She reminded her so much of Quinn. If she kept everything bottled up inside the way he had, she was going to do some serious damage to herself.

"Hey Elli! I think we've enough food here to feed an army. There's no need to make toast too." Gemma joked as she walked into the kitchen with an armload of food trays.

"Oh, this is for Addison. Poor girl threw up earlier and I thought this might help." Elli then remembered why Addison threw up. "In fact, Gemma, I believe it was your joint that caused her to vomit."

Gemma shrugged as she started to pack up the leftovers. "Too bad, girl needed to relax." Then she glanced over at Elli, "Come on, like you've never taken a few hits to take the edge off?"

"That's different and you know it. Come on, with all the shit she's been through? The poor thing looks like she's been in a train wreck. What the hell have you guys been doing down here?" Elli asked in a slightly irritated voice.

"Excuse me?" Gemma asked as she turned her head to look at Elli.

Elli continued, the irritation growing as she spoke. "The girl is barely hanging by a thread and you give her a joint? What the hell were you thinking Gemma?"

Gemma turned around to face Elli fully now and put one hand on her hip, "Hey, just because you were in love with her father doesn't make you her mother."

Elli was stunned. She couldn't believe Gemma would bring that up at a time like this. "That's low Gemma, even for you." She narrowed her eyes and hissed in a low voice.

"Don't make it any less true, darling." Gemma retorted as she turned back around to finish packing the leftovers.

Then Elli turned around fully to look at Gemma. "Look, you may be Clay's wife, but I've been Bear's old lady for over fifteen years and I don't take shit like that." She straightened her stance and crossed her arms. "Even from you."

That's when the toaster popped and Elli turned around to take out the bread. She walked to the other side of the kitchen and grabbed a jar of strawberry jam from the refrigerator. When she walked back, she heard Gemma ask, "You going to tell her?"

Elli sighed as she spread the jam on the toast, "I don't know. Like you said, I'm not her mother. She doesn't even remember me."

One she was done with the toast, she walked back to the refrigerator to put away the jam and took out a bottle of Gatorade and a beer. She grabbed the plate of toast and started to walk out of the kitchen. As she passed Gemma, she heard the other woman say, "Yeah, but you loved her like your own." It wasn't a question.

Elli paused and didn't turn around. "Yes I did. I still do." Then she walked out of the kitchen.

**SOA**

As she made her way towards the hallway leading back down to Addison's room, Elli saw Stone sitting with Happy and decided she would talk to him about Ax. Stone was his President and needed to deal with the little shit. She saw Kip coming towards her and walked up to him.

"Hey, Kip." Elli greeted as he approached.

"Hi Elli!" Kip stopped and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Hey listen, be a dear and take these to Addison, will you? The beer's for Hammer." Elli instructed. As he took his hands out of his pockets she handed him everything, not really giving him the chance to say no. "I need to talk to Stone." She tipped her head over to the Nomad President.

"Oh, yeah sure." He looked a little surprised and took the food from her.

Elli stood there for a moment and just looked at Kip. He was really was a sweet kid. She saw the looks he and Addison had been giving each other. But more importantly, she noticed that he seemed to genuinely care about Addison. He was her only friend right now and she really needed someone she could count on. So she said to him, "You know, it's good she has a friend like you. She really needs that right now."

As she turned to walk towards Stone, she gave him a pointed look and added, "Oh, but be careful. You do anything to hurt her…" Elli cautioned with one hand on hip and gave him a look and showed she meant business.

Kip didn't say anything. He just gave her a confused look as she turned to walk away. She looked back over her shoulder, "Oh, and, congrats on the patch." Then Elli walked away.

**SOA**

Riding back to the clubhouse on Tig's Harley, Happy was irritated. The two men they pulled over were not the brothers they were looking for. They were just two meth heads from a neighboring town, looking for an easy score. Tig had led them to a secluded area in the woods, away from the main road. Once faced with the five very mean looking Sons, the two junkies were more than willing to tell them everything they knew, which turned out to be not much.

All they learned was that some guy had offered them money to deliver a message. The only instructions they were given were to make an impact. They thought it was easy cash and didn't mean to hurt anyone. They didn't' know the guy's name, and couldn't really give them a description, at least nothing specific. They said the guy was white, tall, and had brown hair. However, he was wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap and they met in a dark alley. It made Happy sick to see the two guys groveling at their boots. After they found out all they were going to, he and the other Sons took their frustration out on the two junkies.

When they approached the parking lot of Teller-Morrow, Happy realized how bad things really were. He looked up to see Sons on the roof, as well as around the yard, armed with rifles and shotguns at the ready. It was clear Clay had called a lockdown. He would not be pleased with the news Happy had to bring.

As Tig parked, Happy got off and made his way to the clubhouse, while pumping his right handing to shake away the tingling pain. He also had to favor his right leg while he walked. The chase had not helped the healing wound on his left leg, but there was no way he was going to let the asshole get away. He just hoped he didn't do any permanent damage to his leg.

Cooler walked up next to him rubbing his right shoulder. "Man, I know those weren't the guys, but after a week of being laid up, that 'workout' felt good."

"Yeah, the tweakers deserved it.' Happy growled darkly. This whole situation was really pissing him off. They walked inside the clubhouse and headed towards the bar to grab beers. As they leaned against the counter, Happy scanned the room looking for Clay.

"The shit storm's just starting ain't it?" Cooler asked as he took a sip of beer.

Happy nodded, "Only gonna get worse." Then he spotted Clay sitting in a booth with Stone looking at some papers spread out on the table. "Catch ya later. Gotta download Clay." He drawled as he turned to grab two more beers. He saw Cooler nod as he walked away.

As Happy approached the booth, Clay turned around. "So what did you find out?" Clay asked, as he leaned back in the booth.

"Wasn't them." Happy grumbled in a very annoyed voice as he put down the two beers. "Just more dogs in their game. Said they were paid to deliver a message. Didn't know nothin' useful."

"Fuck." Clay roared and slammed his hand down hard on the wooden table. Happy watched as he then rubbed his sore hand. Looking up to Stone, Clay pointed at him. "You know what I told you. I want this fucking dealt with."

Happy moved out of the way as Clay grabbed the beer and left the booth. Right before walking off, Clay placed a hand on his shoulder. "Good work."

Happy watched him walk off before he took his place in the booth across from Stone. "So what's the plan?" he asked.

"Clay's given us the task of finding these fuckers." Stone took a sip from the beer Happy brought. "I'm sending Ax and Twitch out in the morning to look into the list Juice put together. Hopefully we'll know more soon. Till then, Clay has the club on lockdown. No one in or out without an escort."

Happy just nodded. "Dogs said there was message. You get somethin' from the van?"

"Yeah, there was a note left in there." Stone hesitated as he placed the bottle to his lips again.

Happy took a sip of his own beer. "What'd it say?"

"It said that we couldn't 'hide her' away forever." Stone told him as he sighed. "Guess these guys really are after Addison. And they just brought the fight right to our front doors. Clay is fucking pissed."

"He should be. Fuck!" Happy cursed, as his good leg bounced up and down and he rubbed his head. What the hell did these assholes want with Addison? That they would kill her father and come after the club like this? "Where is she?" Happy asked as he looked around the room for her.

"Clay's got Hammer guarding her. The big guy hasn't moved an inch from her door." Stone snickered.

Happy couldn't help but chuckle at that. Hammer always was one to take the job to heart. He would follow through with any order until the bitter end. Happy couldn't help but remember one time when he and Stone played a prank on Hammer and told him that Quinn wanted him to stand guard outside and watch their bikes, while they were all inside a bar. Normally that wouldn't have been a big deal, but on this one evening, it was pouring rain, and the big guy didn't move a muscle as he stood on the sidewalk, watching their Harleys.

Of course when Quinn had gone out for a smoke, he was followed back in by a very wet and very pissed off Hammer. Both he had Stone had made it up to the big guy by getting him a drink and a pretty blonde to warm him up for the night. Still grinning at the thought of a soaked Hammer, Happy was pulled out of his musings when he saw Elli walking over to their table.

"Sorry to interrupt guys. Stone you got a minute?" She asked as she turned to face the Nomad president.

Happy picked up his beer and started to get up, leaving the two to talk privately.

"Oh you don't have to leave killer." Elli placed a hand on his shoulder. "This won't take long."

Happy sat back down and leaned back into the booth, taking a sip of his beer.

"What can I do for you Elli?" Stone asked with a smile.

"You can make sure your little thief keeps his eyes and hands away from Addison." She replied as she placed one hand on the table and the other on her hip. "She just told me that he broke into her room last night and _watched_ her sleep." Now Elli placed both her hands on the table and leaned in towards Stone.

Hearing this Happy sat back up and gave Stone a look. What the fuck was Ax thinking, creeping on Addison? The little dickhead was a freak, but he was a good Son. And he knew which women were off limits.

Stone sighed and looked up at Elli, "Yeah the kid, Sack, told me this morning."

"You knew this morning? And he's still breathing?" Elli asked as she stood back up and crossed her arms.

"I was going to wait until after the memorial. Look, the guy's squirrelly, but Quinn was his President and he deserved the chance to mourn him." Stone responded as he leaned back in the booth.

"Fine, I get that. But now the memorial's over. I don't care how you deal with it; just make sure that he stays away from her." Elli took a deep breath and uncrossed her arms. "That girl's barely hanging on. She doesn't need to deal with this."

Stone gave her a concerned looked and asked, "She doing okay? She didn't look too hot today.'

"As well as any young woman in her position, I guess," Elli gave Stone a sad smile.

Stone nodded, "Don't worry about Ax. Consider it handled." Then he gave Happy a pointed look.

Elli looked over to Happy as well. He saw the look in her eyes. Happy had known Elli for years. She was a smart chick. She knew what was what. Then she turned back to Stone. "Thank you," and walked away

"You got it?' Stone asked Happy.

"Oh yeah." Happy sneered as he took a drink of his beer. He would deal with Ax. No problem at all.

_**SOA**_

As Kip approached Addison's room, he saw Hammer standing in front of Addison's door with his arms crossed over his chest. When he got to her door, he looked up at the large Son who did not speak and simply raised eyebrow in question.

"Um, hey, here this is from Elli." Kip said as he handed Hammer the beer.

Hammer took it and nodded. "Thanks. That for Addison?" He asked as he eyed the toast on Kip's plate.

"Oh, um yeah," was the answer, to which Hammer reached behind him with his free hand to open the door. Then he moved slightly to the side to let Kip go inside.

"Thanks." As Kip walked past Hammer he felt the Nomad's gaze follow him into Addison's room. Then the door closed behind him. Kip looked around and saw that Addison wasn't in the room. After a brief second of panic, he heard the sound of running water coming from the bathroom. He put down the plate with toast and the bottle of Gatorade on the desk.

As he turned around, he saw Addison walk out of the bathroom, pulling her blonde hair into a high ponytail. The little makeup she had on during the memorial had been washed away. She was still wearing the same clingy shirt and low waist jeans. He found himself admiring her figure before he mentally slapped himself for such thoughts. Then he noticed that that something wasn't quite right with her. As he was pondering what it could be, she turned around and gasped when she spotted him, covering her mouth with her hand. He realized he hadn't said anything to her yet and she had no idea he was in the room.

"Um, hey, sorry to startle you!" Kip rubbed the back of his head with his left hand and shoved his right hand into his jeans pocket.

"Oh, that's okay. Sorry, just a little jumpy." Addison dropped her hand and gave him a soft smile. 'What are you doing in here?"

"Um, Elli wanted me to bring this for you." Kip moved out of the way to let her see the food he had placed on the desk.

Addison looked over at the desk and then furrowed her brow, "Gatorade?"

"Huh?" He didn't think about it earlier, but now that he noticed the toast and Gatorade, he realized Addison must have gotten sick. "Oh, um you get sick or somethin'?" He asked as he stuffed his left hand into his pocket as well.

"Oh, um, yeah…" She started to say as he saw a light blush cover her cheeks as she tilted her head down shyly. "I guess alcohol doesn't really agree with me."

Kip bounced lightly on his heels. "Well, this stuff's the bomb after you've puked." His eyes widened. He couldn't believe he just said that! "Oh, not that…aw, shit." Kip took out of his hands scratched his head. "This is awkward, isn't it?"

"A little, yes." Addison agreed in a soft voice and then walked over to the bed to sit down. "Thank you," she pointed back to the desk, "for the food."

"No problem. Really it was all Elli." He waved off her thanks as he brought over the toast, "Here have some. It'll make you feel better."

Addison took the jam filled toast and started to nibble at a corner. Kip sat down next to her on the edge of the bed. He watched as she slowly ate. She looked lost in thought. He hoped Ax hadn't bothered her again. He told Stone this morning about what had happened. Of course he didn't mention what happened _after_ Ax left Addison's room. Stone didn't need to know that. Kip sighed internally and watched Addison now just pick at her toast. No matter how awkward this was, they needed to clear the air. They were friends and he truly cared about her. He didn't want his lapse of judgment last night to ruin that. "Listen, about last night…" he began, but then was interrupted.

"I'm sorry." Addison blurted as she put down the toast on the plate.

Kip sighed and took the plate and put it on the bed, "Addison, I told you last night, you have nothing to be sorry for." She was still looking down, so he lifted her head up by placing his finger under her chin "Hey, listen, _I'm_ sorry. I never should have let it go that far. I mean I know you've never been with anyone and I shouldn't have…it was wrong of me." Kip finished as he dropped his hand back down to wipe on his jeans. It seemed his hands were getting sweaty again.

"So you mean, you…you wanted..?" She blushed again, but this time she didn't look down, instead she looked straight at him. It was obvious what she was going to ask.

He gave her a kind smile and said, "Oh trust me, I wanted to, I definitely wanted to." If anything, her blush got redder. Then he sighed again, "but with all the shit you're going through right now…it's not the right time."

Addison didn't respond and looked down at her hands. She seemed to have an almost sad look on her face. Kip knew her well enough to know she was either embarrassed or uncomfortable, but he didn't know what she was thinking. She didn't think he was rejecting her did she? He couldn't let her withdraw into herself again. Before he could say anything, she turned back around and asked, "Is anyone hurt?"

It took him a second to realize what she was asking. Obviously she was embarrassed and wanted to change the subject. So he let her. "Huh? Oh no. The guys came back a little while ago. All of them are fine."

"Do you know what's going on?" She asked as she looked at him. He stared into those blue eyes and didn't know how to answer her. The truth was he didn't know exactly what was going on. Clay held church for only the senior members earlier. The rest of them would be briefed tomorrow. But with everything that had happened so far and Addison being locked in her room, it didn't take a genius to figure out that the brothers were after her. However, she looked so tired, with bags under her eyes that he didn't want to add any more to her stress. So, instead he just told her, "No, not really. Clay's going brief us all tomorrow."

"Oh, well at least no one's hurt," was her only response.

Kip placed a hand on her shoulder and asked, "Hey, listen, it's going to be alright, okay?" Addison just nodded. She didn't say anything and didn't look at him.

"You know, I'm here as your friend, you know that, right?' Again, she just nodded, still not looking at him.

He took a deep breath before he said the next part, "And if you ever do want something more…well, I like you Addison and I would definitely be interested." His was very soft voice as he looked at her.

Addison turned around with an almost surprised look on her face. He leaned in with the intention of giving her a kiss on her cheek, but as he got closer, he couldn't help but stare at her lips. So, instead he gave her a very light and gentle kiss and then pulled away immediately before he did anything stupid.

She was silent, but the blush returned and he knew if he didn't leave now, he really would do something stupid. As he got up, she lightly grasped his wrist and asked softly, "Are you sure you have to leave?" He glanced away from her. He needed to keep his wits about him. He couldn't give in, he just couldn't.

"Yeah, if I don't leave now, Hammer's probably gonna break down that door and throw my ass out." He gave her a rueful smile as he rubbed his handed through his hair again.

Addison removed her hand and gave a small chuckle, "He's not that bad."

"Yeah, well I'm not taking that chance." Kip returned with a small chuckle of his own as he walked towards the door. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay? Have a good night!" Then he opened the door and walked out.

As he walked down the hallway, he could feel Hammer's stare on his back.

_**SOA**_

From inside her bedroom, Addison watched Kip leave and saw Hammer move aside and stare in Kip's direction as he walked away.

Then Hammer poked his head in and asked, "Everything okay?"

"Fine," Addison replied with a smile. "I'm going to sleep. See you in the morning?" Hammer just nodded and closed the door. She was pretty sure he was going to be in the same position when she woke up tomorrow morning.

After she finished her snack, she got ready and slipped in under the covers. Hopefully, she would have a restful night. She smiled as she thought back to her conversation with Kip. She expected she would.

**SOA**

With the club now in lockdown, most of those who had come in for the memorial were sticking around, and that made the clubhouse overflow with bodies. After what happened, they were taking shifts to make sure that everyone got enough rest and no one got sloppy.

Walking down the hallway, Happy nodded to Hammer who was still standing outside Addison's door. Happy smirked a little. He knew that the man wouldn't give up his post anytime soon. He would probably be in the same place when morning came.

He walked all the way down the hall to the very last room, where Twitch, Ax and a few others were getting ready to call it a night. Happy opened the door and looked around to see that Ax was already asleep, but the others were still getting ready. With a jerk of his head, Happy silently told the others to leave the room. He then held up a finger to lips, making it clear they were to do so quietly.

Once everyone left the room, he closed the door, pulled out his black leather gloves and put them on. He never 'worked' without them, and this was something that needed to be done. Once the gloves were on, he pulled out his knife and examined it briefly. Then he made his way over to Ax, who was still asleep.

Moving fast and with perfect accuracy, Happy clamped down his left hand over Ax's mouth, and held the knife between his legs, pressing tip against Ax's left thigh. Ax's eyes flew open, wide with shock, and he tried to struggle. He stilled once Happy applied more pressure to the knife.

"How does it feel?" He asked in a dangerous snarl, "being watched while you sleep?"

Shaking his head back and forth, Ax tried to say something, but Happy wouldn't remove his hand. "You touch her?" Happy asked, keeping his voice low and threatening, while digging in a little more with the tip of the blade.

Again Ax shook his head, and help up his hands in surrender. Happy moved his left hand so that Ax could talk, but kept the knife where it was. "I never touched her man, I swear!" Ax's voice was higher than normal and it was obvious he was scared. But Happy knew Ax; he could see the truth in his eyes. He straightened up, but still kept his blade firmly in place.

"What the fuck, man? You know she's off limits!" Happy growled. "The hell you doin' breaking into her room?"

"I know. I know." Ax squirmed he tried to sit up, but Happy's knife was making that impossible. "It's just that she's so pretty. I couldn't help myself."

Happy leaned forward again and applied more pressure to the knife. "What?" His voice was so low and menacing that Ax eyes almost popped out of their sockets and his hands went up in surrender again. He wouldn't be surprised if Ax soiled himself.

"No, no, man. I would never!" The pitch of Ax's voice was starting to reach an inaudible level. "Come on Hap, guy like me? I would never taint her like that! Shit!"

Happy saw the pure fear coming from Ax now. He figured he made his point very clear, so he finally removed his knife from between Ax's leg. "If I see you even come near her…" He left the threat unspoken as he pointed his knife at him. Ax knew him well enough to know what would happen.

Ax sat up and shook his head again, "Look, I know I'm fucked up three different ways, but I swear I never touched her and I will never touch her. I'll stay away. I promise."

Happy just sheathed his knife and turned around to leave the room. Once he opened the door, he saw the other Sons still waiting in the hallway. He gave a silent nod and walked passed them while taking off this gloves. He needed to let Stone know that Ax had been dealt with. At least it was one less thing the girl had to worry about.

**Authors Notes:** As always, we would love to know what you all think of the story, so please feel free to review or send us a message with your thoughts. We hope that you all enjoyed this new chapter!


	19. Chapter 19

**Authors Notes: **Here is the next wonderful installment of 'Born to Die'. We would have liked to have gotten it out sooner, but life got in the way for the both of us.

**Thank you to**: Ramadiii, FlyGirl2685, ozlady80, Wicked in Boston, msgemgem, Luckylily, ShiloCoulter, jmhan, Angel N Darkness, flower-machinations, Slytherin Studios, LazySmurf247, go4itgirl, leeseelee, and ThisLife103.7 for reading and reviewing the last chapter. As with every chapter, we can't wait to hear what you think of this one.

**This chapter is dedicated to…**

**Gerald P. "Jerry" Eckhart.**

**July 3rd 1948 – April 18th 2011 (Member of the 'Hells Keepers' MC out of DFW-Texas)**

(More about Jerry in the 'End Authors Notes'.)

**Born to Die**

**Chapter NINTEEN**

**Written by: Dannimitchell85 and Kaylalong**

The water started to lose a little of its heat, no longer steaming up the small bathroom, but Addison was going to continue enjoying the relaxing spray of the water. She wanted to savor the feeling, knowing that it wouldn't last forever. So she took her time with her morning routine of washing and shaving.

Squeezing the strawberry scented shower gel onto a washcloth, she worked the cloth to build up a nice thick lather. As she ran the creamy suds along her body, she remembered waking up this morning feeling relaxed and warm. She had her first night of restful sleep in weeks. She wondered if maybe it was because of her talk with Elli last night. Getting everything off her chest had felt good. It was a nice release and helped her to focus again.

Of course, it could also have been because of the dream. Addison couldn't help the blush that crept onto her cheeks, which had nothing to do with the temperature of the water. For the first time since what happened with her father, she had a dream, not a nightmare, but a wonderful dream. Even if she could only remember bits and pieces of the dream, she was pretty sure Kip was in it. She was sure it was his confession last night that triggered the fantasy. She couldn't believe her ears when he told her that...that he was _interested_.

Growing up the way she had, she never experienced this situation before and wasn't quite sure what to do. She was pretty sure she liked him, but there were just too many questions. What was he interested in? Was he just looking for one night, or did he want more? What would 'more' even mean? She certainly wasn't ready for anything right now, but if she allowed herself to admit it, she did crave his touch. It was so new and felt amazing. However this was no time to be thinking like this. She should not be thinking about 'boys' like some teenager, given her current circumstances.

Stepping back under the shower's spray, she rinsed off the soap and let the water fall on her. As much as she wanted to stay in the shower all day, there were more pressing matters to deal with right now.

First and foremost, was the lockdown.

Addison knew her uncle was not going to let her step one foot out of the clubhouse, and as much as she didn't like the situation, she would try and get through this. The last thing she wanted was for anyone else to get hurt on her behalf.

Stepping out of the shower, she dried off her body and wrapped her wet hair with the towel. She got dressed in one of her father's old Reaper shirts, taking comfort in the softness of the light cotton, and a worn pair of jeans. It was amazing how much better she always felt while wearing one of his shirts.

Unwrapping the towel, she squeezed out the excess water from her hair. Running a brush through her long blond locks, she decided to leave it down to finish air drying. She walked out of the bathroom to put on her boots and then headed to go outside. Opening the door softly, she saw Hammer, and as she had assumed, he was in the same position as he was the night before.

"You're up early." Hammer remarked, his voice rough from being awake all night. "You sleep alright?"

She gave him a genuine smile, "Actually I did. First time in a while."

Addison saw his mouth crack into a wide grin. He probably though it was due his guard duty. He pushed himself away from the wall, and nodded to the main room, "A few others are up already. I'm going to take a piss." He turned to walk away. "Don't go far," He added over his shoulder.

Addison rolled her eyes at his 'warning', even though a smile tugged at her lips. Really, she appreciated what all the Sons were doing trying to protect her, especially Hammer. He seemed to take his responsibility very seriously, and if she ever was truly in trouble, she definitely wanted him at her side. But she was going maybe thirty feet away, in a clubhouse that held over forty badass bikers. And she was pretty sure there were Sons outside the clubhouse standing guard as well. What could possibly happen?

Upon walking into the main room, Addison saw Stone and Happy sitting at the bar. Each man had a cup of coffee in front of him. There were other Sons in the main room, but they all looked to be asleep or barely awake. She walked over to them and greeted them with a quiet, "Good morning."

"Morning," Stone returned the greeting. Happy, silent as always, only nodded at her as he took a sip of his coffee. She noticed they were both wearing their cuts over dark colored T-shirts. Her father usually wore long sleeve shirts and multiple layers since their house was in Alaska, but even at home, he always wore his cut.

"Coffee's in the kitchen." Stone told her, "Grab yourself something to eat too."

"Have you both eaten already?" She asked as she headed back to the kitchen.

"Yup, we're good." Stone called back to her.

Once in the kitchen, she looked around and saw the coffee pot half full with the dark morning brew. She looked around but couldn't find any clean mugs. She then went to the refrigerator and pulled open the door. Almost all the food were leftovers from last night. Just thinking about the memorial made her stomach turn, so she closed the door and decided to just wash a mug so she could have coffee.

As she turned around, she was startled by the tall figure leaning against the counter. "Shit," Addison cursed as she placed a hand over her racing heart. Standing next to the coffee was Happy, about to pour himself another cup. How had she not heard him come in? Addison's senses were a little sharper than most people her age, a by-product of growing up on the road.

"Do you ever make any noise?" She asked, not really expecting an answer. She was not disappointed.

"You should eat somethin'." He said, not looking at her.

"Not really that hungry right now." She replied as she inspected the dirty mugs, trying to find one that had the least amount of unidentifiable stains. She really needed some coffee soon. While her back was turned to him, she couldn't help but ask, "I never got to ask you what happened last night?"

When she didn't hear anything, she turned around to see that Happy had already left the kitchen. However, sitting on the counter next to the coffee pot was a clean empty mug that was not there before. Addison walked closer and couldn't help but chuckle softly as she looked at the mug. It was white and had a large yellow happy face on the side, with _'Have a Nice Day'_ written underneath it.

This actually wasn't that strange. The kitchen contained many odd novelty mugs like this. However, staring at the bright yellow circle smiling at her, Addison pondered Happy's nickname. He was the complete opposite of the happy face on the mug. And 'Happy' seemded like an odd nickname for a Harley riding biker, especially one that looked and acted like him. She could understand Hammer, Cooler, and Bull-Dog, even if she didn't know the reasons for those nicknames either, but Happy? She wasn't sure she had even seen him smile. She couldn't help but wonder the true reason behind his name.

Of course, this wasn't a question she could answer now, or even by herself. Clearing her mind of such thoughts, Addison took the happy face mug and poured herself some hot coffee. Then she added just a bit of sweetener and cream, and then made her way back to the main room. Looking around she saw Happy had reclaimed his spot at the bar, talking quietly with Hammer, who had apparently taken up Stone's seat. She went over to join them.

**SOA**

Happy watched as Addison walked out of the kitchen, coffee mug in hand. She seemed to look a little better this morning. The bags under her eyes had faded slightly and her face didn't look quite as worn out anymore. Hammer had just informed him, quite proudly in fact, that she slept well last night. Happy couldn't help but admire her a little more. He thought for sure she would crack after last night, but here she was this morning, up before most the others, a little brighter and fresher than before. There was a soft glow to her face and when she walked by earlier, he got a nice whiff of whatever female shower stuff she had used. It was a nice contrast to the booze and cigarettes that he was used to. Hopefully with time, Addison would return to being the woman she had been before Quinn's death, whoever that was.

He was pulled out of his musings when he heard Hammer say to Addison, "Hey, I'm going to go catch some shut eye. Hap's gonna watch you." Happy saw Hammer get up and felt him pat his shoulders. "Don't go anywhere now." Hammer admonished as he walked back to the hallway.

Happy's eyes followed Hammer and watched him turn back around to point at Addison with a warning gesture. Then after he left the room, Happy snorted, "Guess Cujo needs a nap."

He turned to see a surprised look on Addison's face before she laughed softly and asked, "Does he snarl and foam at the mouth too?"

Happy smirked before he brought his coffee to his lips, "Sometimes." That just caused her to laugh more. This was probably the first time he heard her laugh since he met her. It was nice, light and clean. At least she didn't snort or cackle like some bitches.

As she slowly stopped laughing, Addison gave him a warm smile. "He can be a little much, can't he?" She asked as she brought the mug to her lips and blew gently before taking a sip of the hot coffee.

Happy nodded, "Yeah, but he's dedicated. You want him watching your back."

"I believe it," She paused and stared into her coffee cup. It seemed she was gathering her nerve to say something to him. "I never got a chance to ask you what happened last night." She asked as she put down her mug.

Obviously Clay didn't tell her about the note that had been left behind. Happy didn't think it was his place to say anything, so instead he asked, "What'd Clay tell you?"

He heard she sigh as she leaned against the counter. "Nothing, he told me absolutely nothing. All he said is the club is lockdown until he knows more."

Happy took another sip of coffee, "Then he'll tell you when he knows more."

He heard her sigh again, "I'm not some child." She took another sip of coffee and looked him in eyes. "I grew up on the road. I may not have stepped into a clubhouse until now, but I know what the club is, what the clubs deals with. Clay's not doing anyone any favors by not telling me."

Happy heard the angry undertone in her voice. He looked back at her and noticed the tension in her posture. Happy always believed that information was on a need to know basis. He didn't think she needed to know that two crazy fuckers wanted her. That they killed her dad and were willing to kill whoever else stood in the way so that they could get her. However, it wasn't his place to tell her that, so he kept quiet. Plus, he could see that she just needed to vent.

"My dad may have kept many things from me, but he never kept me in the dark like this. Not when it comes to someone's safety." Addison continued after putting the coffee mug back down. Now she leaned against the counter with both arms stretched out, hands against the edge. "He would tell me what I needed to know so I could take care of myself. It doesn't take a genius to figure out this has to do with the guy who killed my dad."

After another pause during which Happy remained silent, she pleaded, "I need to know what's going on. You said before, that I can't deal with the enemy if I don't take care of myself. Well, I can't deal with the enemy if I don't know who they are or what they've done." She stared at him with those piercing blue eyes. She had balls, throwing his own words back at him. However, Happy wasn't some pussy-whipped schmuck. That 'look' of hers may cause other men to cave, but had no affect on him. This was between her and Clay. He was not going to get in the middle of it.

Happy shook his head, "Sorry, not my place. You need to bring it up with your uncle."

He watched as she literally deflated and crossed her arms flat against the counter. Her brows were furrowed and she just stared into the dark liquid of her coffee cup. Normally he wouldn't care about somebody's _feelings_, but this girl had been through hell in the last few weeks and it was only going to get worse. So, he decided to change the subject. "You don't gotta worry about Ax no more."

Addison straightened up and looked at him in surprise. "What? What do you mean?"

"Talked to him last night. He won't be creeping on you again." Happy responded.

Addison stared at him for a moment. "How did you…? Is he..?"

Before she could finish he answered, "Elli told Stone. I was there. Don't worry, dickhead's still alive."

Addison leaned back down against the counter and nodded, "Thank you."

Happy just shrugged as took another sip of coffee. He watched as Addison took her coffee mug and looked at him, "I'm going to finish this in my room. See you later?"

Happy nodded as he watched her walk away.

**SOA**

After Addison left Happy at the bar, she came back to her room to pass the time. She didn't know what Gemma wanted to do for breakfast and she couldn't leave the clubhouse. So she got out her iPod and decided to listen to some music. She must have fallen asleep, for the next thing she knew, she opened her eyes to look at the clock on the nightstand and saw that it was almost noon. Then she saw a stack of what looked like envelopes and cards next to the clock. Addison sat up and noticed a note sitting on top of the stack. She reached over to take the whole stack and placed it on her lap. The note on top read:

_These came for the memorial last night. I thought you would like them. But I didn't want to wake you._

_Lyla_

Addison picked up the first card to look at the envelope. The return address and postmark showed the card came from Plano, Texas. She ran her finger through the sealed envelope and took out a sympathy card. She opened it to find a picture of her father when he was a little younger, surrounded by several other Sons. Flipping over the picture, it appeared each member signed his name. The card also included a handwritten note and signature:

_Our deepest condolences. Your father was a great man._

_The Plano Sons – Sons of Anarchy Texas_

There were more of the same from charters all over the US and Canada. Each of them had the name and city of the club charter. Some were just little mini gift cards or just gift tags with no envelopes. Those usually had the name of the florist printed on the back. About halfway through the stack, Addison came across a bright yellow colored envelope without a return address or a postmark. Most of the other full size envelopes were white. She furrowed her eyebrows as she just looked at the envelope. She decided to open it and a strange feeling formed in the pit of her stomach as she read the handwritten message:

_I am so sorry for your loss and the pain you must be feeling. But, know that soon you will be with your true family._

_Love,_  
_Danny_

Addison had learned long ago to trust her instincts, which were sending all kinds of warning signals. Something about this card did not feel right. This did not sound like a sympathy card from a club who had never met her. She looked through the rest of the stack to see if there was a corresponding gift tag or if there was another card that also didn't have a postmark, but didn't find anything. She took the card and placed the stack back on the nightstand. She needed to show this to someone. As she opened her door she found Hammer standing right outside. She really wasn't surprised to see him back at his 'post'.

He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. She noticed he did this instead of actually asking a question. Maybe he thought it looked intimidating, but for some reason this large Son didn't frighten her at all. "Where you off to?" Hammer asked.

"Umm, oh, I'm not sure actually." Who should she talk to? She should probably show the card to Clay, but if it was nothing, she didn't want to make a big deal out of it. Maybe this Danny was someone who knew her dad really well and wanted to give her a personal card, instead of a group one? Looking down at the card in her hand, she asked Hammer, "Hey, you've been to most the clubhouses right?" She figured a Nomad would be the best to ask. He probably knew many members from the other charters.

Straightening up, Hammer nodded. "Yeah, all the ones in the states. Never been overseas though."

"Well, Lyla brought me the cards that came for the memorial last night. They were from the charters who couldn't attend and most of them had the name and city of each charter. But this one is different." She gave the card to Hammer to read.

Addison watched as Hammer's face first took on a confused look, and then he looked very concerned. He moved so fast Addison didn't even realize what was happening until he turned around from halfway down the hall telling her, "Get back in your room, now." The tone in his voice left very little room for argument. He turned back around and didn't even give her a chance to ask what was wrong.

She went back inside and sat on her bed, waiting for Hammer to return. Apparently her instincts were right and something was weird with that card. She didn't wait long, for soon Clay and Stone were charging into her bedroom. She looked behind them to see Hammer blocking the open doorway, facing the inside of the room.

"How did you get this?" Clay asked, wasting no time.

Addison looked at her uncle to see a worried look on his face. Next to him, Stone looked nervous. It was as if this card had spooked them. This must be bad for a sympathy card to spook two club Presidents.

"Lyla left a stack of the cards on my nightstand." Addison replied quickly. Maybe now she would finally get some answers.

Clay turned around and pointed to Hammer. "Go get Opie and his girl." He instructed and then turned around to face Stone. Addison watched as he rubbed his right hand over his face, while he still kept a tight hold on the card with his left.

The room was silent as they waited for the others. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, Addison asked her uncle, "What's going on? Who is the card from?"

Clay shot her a look that should have terrified her as he spat, "Nothing for you to worry about." Then he looked back at Stone as they both looked down at the card. They seemed to be communicating silently.

This was getting ridiculous. How long was Clay going to keep her in the dark? She shot up from the bed and took a step forward. "Nothing for me to worry about? Are you kidding me?" Her voice was loud and angry, but it was controlled. "I'm not stupid Clay." Before she could continue, Hammer returned with Opie and a confused looking Lyla. Behind them, Addison saw Happy and Bull also standing in the open doorway with Hammer.

Ignoring her outburst, Clay turned to look at the small blond. "You brought the cards." He held up the card in his hand. "Where did you get this one?"

"I'm sorry?" Lyla asked as she looked over to Addison and then back to Opie, standing right behind her.

"What's this about Clay?" Opie asked, as he placed a hand on Lyla's back.

"Where did you get this card?" Clay asked Lyla again. The urgent tone in his voice made it clear he wanted answers now.

"I'm not sure. Gemma was getting cards in the mail all week from the other charters." Lyla answered as Opie wrapped an arm around her. "She asked me to give them to Addison this morning."

Then Addison realized Clay was only holding the card, and not the envelope. "Wait," she said as she bent down to pick up the envelope from the bed, "this one wasn't sent in the mail. There's no postmark." She handed the envelope to Clay.

"Oh is that the yellow one?" Lyla asked as she walked towards Clay to look at the envelope. "I thought it was strange for a bouquet to come with a full size card. Most of the others just had little mini-cards or gift tags."

Stone asked, "Do you remember the bouquet that came with that card?"

Lyla looked at him, "I'm not sure. The flowers were moved around after I gathered up all the cards. And there are a ton of them out there."

Clay practically barked, "Then go back outside and see if you can remember." Then he took a deep breath and looked at Opie and then back to Lyla, "Please. This is important." Opie nodded and guided Lyla out the room.

Stone pointed to Bull still standing in the doorway, "Bull, go with them. If she can find the right one, check it out." Addison watched as Bull nodded and followed Opie and Lyla.

"Tell me what is going on Uncle Clay." Addison demanded, trying to focus back on trying to find out what is going on. "Look I'm smart enough to know that whatever is going on involves me." Then she pointed over to Hammer. "I'm the only one in this club who has a six foot plus 'Hulk' following me like a fucking guard dog. So don't tell me that this doesn't concern me or I have nothing to worry about. I deserve to know."

Clay stood there, immobile, but Addison could tell from the look on his face and the way he was grinding his jaw that he was debating with himself. This may be her window of opportunity, so she plowed forward. "I'm not some stupid kid. I lived on the road my whole life. I have experienced more than the average person my age. And I know that the only way to truly protect me from danger is to tell me what that danger is." Addison put her hands on her hips and stood up straight. She was not backing down this time. She was going to get her answers.

"Clay, maybe it's time." Stone's voice broke the silence.

Clay closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Then he took a deep breath, "Fine." He turned around and pointed to Happy and Hammer, "You two, in or out, but shut the fuckin' door."

Addison watched as they backed up and closed the door, choosing to stay in the hallway. Clay turned back around and pointed to her bed, "You may want to sit down."

**SOA**

Happy shifted the weight off his left leg, as he leaned against the wall outside of Addison's room. His leg hurt a little more this morning as a result of last night's chase. But luckily he had not done any serious damage, at least according to Tara, who had taken a look at it after he dealt with Ax.

Shifting again, Happy turned around to look at Hammer. The big guy had not so much as twitched since they had both decided to wait in the hallway. Looking down at his sliver watch, Happy saw that they had been waiting for the last fifteen minutes. He wasn't sure how long it was going to take, but he didn't have anywhere else to be that was more important, so he readjusted himself once again.

He, along with Bull, had been talking to the Sons who were patrolling outside; making sure that everything was still locked down tight. Everything seemed to be quiet and they hadn't noticed anything suspicious. Once they were back inside the clubhouse, both Nomads saw Hammer come barreling into the room like a bat out of hell, looking for Opie and his girl. The large Son had sent them a meaningful look, and it was enough for Happy and Bull to follow him. When they arrived at Addison's room, he felt the tiniest spark of panic. Something must be wrong. What the fuck could possibly have happened to her inside the clubhouse?

Apparently, something had happened while they were outside. Although he couldn't imagine what could have everyone so worked up. There had been no signs of danger outside, and nothing could have gotten inside the clubhouse without the 'alarms' going off. As Happy looked into Addison's room, he'll never forget the look on Clay's face. He had never seen the National President look so distressed. And the look on Stone's face only confirmed his suspicions that whatever it was, it was bad.

From what he could make out of Clay's questioning of Lyla, somehow Addison received a card of some kind. Happy could only imagine what was in the card to have Clay, Stone, and Hammer in such an unnerving state. And now Clay decided to fill Addison in on what was going on. None of this would go over well with the girl. Like he told her earlier, this was between the two of them, so it didn't matter to him what Clay did or didn't tell her. It was obvious this whole thing was personal for Clay. After all, Addison was his last blood-relation. Happy knew better than to get in the middle of that.

He stood up straight when the door opened and an extremely furious looking Addison marched out. She stopped just outside the door and stared at them, then stormed off down the hallway to go outside. Hammer pushed off the wall and made to follow her, hanging back just enough to give her some space. Happy turned back to the door to see Clay walk out. He looked at Clay and cocked his head, silently asking the question of what happened.

Clay looked at Happy and rubbed his hand over his face, "She wanted to know…so now she knows." Then he walked down the hallway.

As Stone came out of her room, Happy joined his president and both walked down the hallway. "So, what's the deal?" He inquired.

"Addison received a card." Stone said as he handed it to Happy. Then he then pulled out his cell phone and pointed to the signature on the card, "Pretty sure there was a 'Daniel' on Juice's list. This could be from the brothers."

They were at the entrance to the main room when they stopped so Stone could talk to Ax on his pre-paid. Happy read the note written in the card. If this was from the brothers, something was off about the message; the words didn't sit right with him. This wasn't a threat or a warning. This was personalized condolence, almost as if from a friend or family member. Then, as he read the signature, he noticed it.

"There's only one name." Happy pointed out to Stone as the other man just finished his phone conversation.

Stone put away his phone and continued to walk into the main room. "Yeah, I noticed that too."

"Know what it means?" Happy asked as he closed the card and handed it back to Stone.

They had reached the front door and Stone opened it, "Not yet. But since you said only one guy hired those tweakers last night, it's gotta mean somethin', right?"

"Yeah," Happy rubbed his head as he followed Stone outside. Hopefully this was the lead they needed and this nightmare could finally end for both Addison and the Sons.

"Clay wants to hold church with all the Nomads when Ax and Twitch get back." Stone advised him as the two of them continued to walk outside to where Hammer was leaning against a wall watching Addison pace back and forth near the boxing ring. "She wants us to pull Hammer off guard duty. Says it's overkill and silly."

Happy snickered in a low voice, "Good luck with that. Think the big guy's kinda soft on her."

Stone just smiled, "Yeah, but pretty sure it's harmless. You know him."

Happy nodded. He was one of the few Sons who did know. It was one of those things that a guy told another guy only once and it was never brought up again. Like many of the brothers, Hammer's family life wasn't the best. He got out and found the Sons, but his sister wasn't so lucky. She ran with the wrong crowd, hooked up with wrong guys, and got strung out on the wrong drugs. Hammer tried his best to help her out, but like a junkie, she didn't want his help. So, Hammer would sometimes get a little overprotective with the women in the club. And with Addison being Quinn's daughter, it was not a surprise that he instantly took on that big brother role with her. Clay may have put Hammer on Addison's guard duty, but his total dedication was all his own.

As they approached the large Son, Stone asked, "Hammer, got a minute?"

Hammer looked at Stone and then back to Addison with a question on this face. Knowing that Hammer wouldn't leave Addison while she was in such a state, Happy figured he'd save everyone the headache and offered, "Go, I got it." Hammer nodded his thanks and walked away with Stone.

Happy turned around to see Addison still pacing back and forth, mumbling to herself. Every once in a while she would clench and unclench her fists and then throw an arm out as she paced. He wasn't really sure what caused him to do so, but Happy found himself standing about ten feet behind her. As she turned around, he expected her to gasp or jump like she had in the kitchen that morning, but instead all she did was stop and glare at him.

Then she walked right up to him and asked him in a harsh tone, "Did you know?"

He could have played dumb and asked her what the hell she was talking about, but that wasn't his style. There was no reason to hide. "Yeah, I knew."

She took a step backward and then accused him, "So you lied to me earlier."

Happy held his ground and kept his eyes trained on hers, "Told ya, wasn't my place. You got your answers from Clay." She just stood there a little breathless, clenching her fists, all the while glaring at him. This was beyond venting. She was royally pissed off. It was clear to see the fury boiling under her skin, and she would probably explode at any moment.

Happy wasn't one to deal with pissed off women. He normally either smacked them to keep them in line or just walked away. However, smacking Addison probably wouldn't be the best idea and the girl could seriously hurt herself or someone else if he just let this go. She was a ticking time bomb that needed to be diffused. He had learned over the years that the best way to do this was to distract the person to throw him off-kilter. Actually, now that he thought about it, Quinn had taught him this tactic.

He looked around and saw the heavy bag. He walked over and asked her, "You know how to punch?"

His question had the desired effect. Her breathing evened out and she walked over to him with a puzzled look on her face. Her tone of voice was no less vehement though, "What? What are you talking about?"

Happy just stood next to the bag and pointed to it. "Bag…Punch," he drawled. He was probably pissing her off more, but the sooner she got over this, the sooner they could all focus on the real threat. Addison walked over and landed a nice right hook to the bag.

"Again," he instructed. She landed a few more punches before he went behind it to brace the bag for her. As she landed punch after punch, he couldn't help but be a little impressed. She punched pretty well for a woman of her height and size. Quinn taught her well. However the problem was punching bags couldn't hit back. Even though it looked like she knew what she was doing, he knew that if she was ever in a real fight, her short reach and small frame would not be in her favor.

After several more punches she stopped and just stood in front of the bag, panting and looking at her hands. The sweat had matted her hair to her face and her shirt was clinging to her chest a little. He could see that her knuckles were all red from the punching. "You should get that looked at." He pointed to her hands. He walked over to sit on the edge of the boxing ring. Now that she was out of steam, it was unlikely she would do anything stupid.

She turned around and looked at him, "You know, I have a right to be mad. Clay kept the truth from me." She wiped the hair away from her face.

Happy pulled out a cigarette and lit it as he looked over to the parking lot. "He's not the enemy." He said taking a hit off it. "The brothers are." Then he turned back to look at her as he exhaled. "Save your anger for them."

She didn't say anything and didn't look at him as he continued to smoke. He certainly didn't mind the silence. She just stared out into the parking lot. It seemed as if she was looking at the Sons on the roof guarding the club. Finally she broke the silence, but her voice was almost a whisper and he could barely hear her. "This is all my fault." She walked over and sat down next to him. She leaned forward and stared at the ground, "They killed my dad. You and Cooler got hurt. The club is in danger, all because they want me."

Happy blew out another cloud of smoke, "You tell those bastards to kill your dad? You tell them to come after us?" He rasped.

Addison sat up and looked at him with a shocked expression, "What? Of course not! How can you even ask that?"

He looked her in the eyes, "Then it's not your fault. Ain't gonna do no good to blame yourself." He took a final drag of his cigarette and blew the smoke away from her. "This ain't about you. It's about them." Then he got up and ground out his cigarette. "You wanted to know who the enemy was, now you know."

She didn't reply, didn't even look at him. She just stared at the clubhouse. He also looked over to see Stone and Hammer coming back outside. The big guy didn't too happy. Happy turned back to Addison and pointed to her hands, "Go back inside. Get that checked out."

She got up with a bit of a groan. "This is all fucked up, isn't it?"

Happy smirked. Well, the girl seemed to have calmed down. "Yeah, gotta say it is." As he watched her walk away, Happy thought to himself that when they finally got these fuckers, he would make sure they died a slow painful death. They didn't just kill a beloved club President, but ruined the life of this young woman.

**SOA**

Sitting in his worn out leather chair, Clay took long pull of his cigar, letting the burning ash hit his lungs as the tobacco worked its magic on his nerves. He knew Addison was bound to find out about the brothers. And as expected, she was royally pissed off. He tried his best to shield her from the evil that was after her, but in the end, Stone convinced him that it was for the best to just tell her. It could mean the difference between life and death. Of course that didn't mean he had to like it. She was strong like her mother and smart like her father. Add that to the fighting spirits of both and you had a dangerous combination.

Hearing a knock on the door, he looked up to see Tig walk in, followed by Stone and a few others. "Ax and Twitch just pulled up. They are on their way in." His SAA said as he took his seat beside him.

Taking another pull from his cigar as he waited for the others, Clay couldn't help but think over the other discussion he had had with his niece once the initial shock has passed. She had the nerve to 'inform' them that it was the best idea for her to leave the clubhouse. She even tried to back up her idea with points like it would be harder to find her if she kept moving. They obviously found the clubhouse. She was a sitting duck here. Clay had snorted at that. He didn't care about her 'points'. He was the head of this club and she was his niece. He would be making the decisions here, not some little girl. He was pulled out of his thoughts once more when Ax and Twitch walked into the room.

"So why did we just ride all the way back after you sent us out this morning?" Ax asked Stone as he took a seat at the table. Clay didn't miss the flinch from the smaller Nomad as Happy sat down next to him.

"We got a better lead." Stone said as he plopped down the yellow envelope and card. "One of the fuckers sent this to Addison." Then he slid it over to Cooler who was sitting beside him. "Bull, anything on the flowers?"

Bull shook his head from his seat next to Cooler, "Dead end. Lyla found the right flowers, but there was nothing on the vase. No florist, nothing."

"Juice what did you find?" Clay asked his intelligence officer, who was typing away furiously on his laptop.

The mowhawked Son looked over to Clay and responded, "'fraid nothing good." He leaned back and shook his head. "I mean, I think found them but shit," he cursed as his eyes widened, "we aren't dealing with hunters who are looking for a new thrill in life."

"What do you mean?" Tig asked.

"Well, earlier this week I had narrowed down the list of Jagers to five sets of brothers." Juice explained as he pointed to the card lying on the table. "The signature on that is 'Danny'. Sure enough, there was a Thomas and Daniel Jager on my list. Thomas is the older brother. Danny is the younger one."

"So it's good to say it's them." Hammer spoke up from the wall behind Stone.

"I wanted to make sure, see if their history fit the guys we're looking for. So I dove a little deeper." Juice paused to look around the room.

"And?" Tig waved his hand, a gesture that was clear they all wanted to know what he found.

"There aren't any work records on them for the last five years. But I did find out that they were hired by a PMC company called Titan Corp., between 2003 and 2004."

"What the hell is a 'PMC'?" Cooler asked.

"Private Military Contractors." Clay, Tig and Stone all answered simultaneously.

"Mercenaries." Hammer clarified as he folded his arms across his chest. "Those fuckers play a whole different ball game."

"Shit." Cooler said as he leaned back into his seat.

"What else did you find?" Clay asked Juice. He figured there had to be more, and he had a feeling he was not going to like any of it.

"You all remember a few years ago, a story was all over the news about the abused prisoners in Iraq?" Juice asked, as he looked around the table. "Well Titan Corp. was responsible for the armed guards there. And both Thomas and Daniel were there at the time of the scandal."

"How the hell are they not behind bars?" Cooler asked.

"Out of the six personnel that were behind the abuse, none of them were prosecuted." Juice told the others.

"Fuck," Hammer said as he fisted one hand into the other.

"Good work Juice." Clay said.

"Not a problem, I should have a paper trail on them soon. I'm just waiting on a few things to come back." Juice said as he closed the screen of his laptop.

"Do we have any idea why they're doing this? Why they're after Addison?" Cooler asked the room as he ran a hand through his short brown hair.

Stone shook his head, "No. We're not even sure this is about Addison. But all signs are pointing to her being the target."

"What 'bout the signature?" Happy's raspy voice spoke up as he pointed to the card. "There's only one name."

Stone nodded, "Don't know for sure. The junkies last night, they said one guy hired them, right?"

Happy answered, "Yeah. They didn't get a good look at the guy though. He was wearing a cap and shades."

Stone scratched his goatee, "Well, if I had to guess, I'd say these guys aren't on the same page. Patterson said the older brother, Tank, called all the shots." Stone took the card to read the message again, "This doesn't sound like a take charge kind of guy. This could be the younger brother."

"Yeah, let's hope it's a mistake and not a trap." Tig warned from his seat next to Clay.

Clay rubbed his brow and looked over to Stone, "Regardless, it's the first real lead we got. You know I want this done." Stone's reply was a nod.

"Good." Clay took a breath and looked over to his SAA. "I'm lifting lockdown in the morning. Tig, tell the others charters. I want them all making their way home tomorrow. We don't need more targets."

"Yeah boss." Tig said with a nod.

Clay banged the gavel to end church. He was more than ready to put his day behind him.

_**SOA**_

After taking a quick shower, Happy changed into a pair of long sweat pants and flopped onto the bed. He was sharing a room with Hammer, and the other Nomad was already dead to the world snoring away in the other bed. Laying his right arm over his head, he let sleep claim him. Tomorrow could be the day that they catch the two assholes responsible for Quinn's death. He wanted to be at the top of his game.

Sometime in the middle of the night, a loud shriek shuddered through the clubhouse. Bolting straight up in bed, Happy looked around and saw the look on Hammer's face. The shriek must have woken him up as well. Without another thought, both men jumped out of their beds, grabbed their guns, and raced out the door. As Happy looked down the hall, he saw that Addison's door was open.

Shit! Happy looked to Hammer and both Nomads flew down the hallway. Hopefully, the girl was alright.

_**Authors Notes:**_ We hope that you all enjoyed the new chapter and we can't wait to hear what you all thought about it. And know that the next chapter is on its way.

_**About Jerry:**_ Jerry was a Vietnam War veteran, who served in the Unites States Marine Crops. He was an avid rider, and was a member of the 'Hells Keepers' MC. While in the war, he earned three Purple Hearts, and one Sliver Star. _(The Silver Star is the 3__rd__ highest military decoration that can be awarded to those who serve in the United States Armed Forces. Purple Hearts are awarded to those who were injured in the line of duty.)_ His fellow brother riders made a vow to his family, promising to always protect and defend them, no matter what the threat, the same way that Jerry protected his country and his brothers. He died at the young age of 62.

It's one thing to watch something on TV, but when it's real and right in front of you, you can't help but feel the honor and pride.

May Jerry rest in peace.

(If you would like to know more please PM DanniMitchell85)


	20. Chapter 20

_**Authors Notes:**_ Here is the next chapter, once again it took longer than we would have liked. We ended up splitting this chapter in two, so know that the next chapter is only a few days away!

Thank you again, to all those who have read and taken the time to review each chapter. It means so much to us that you are all enjoying the story as much as we are enjoying writing it.

**Born to Die **

**Chapter 20**

**Written By:** DanniMitchell85 and Kaylalong

Drying his hair with a thin towel, Kip padded his way over to the dresser, pulled out a pair of clean boxers and slipped them on. The hot, refreshing spray had been just what he needed. Still warm from his shower, he flopped onto the bed and rested his right arm on his forehead. He hoped the gesture would cool him down so that sleep could find him quickly.

It had been a stressful day. He had been out running errands for the club with a few of the other Sons. Stone had told him that morning that Ax had been dealt with, and that he and Twitch were sent out to track down the brothers. However, by nighttime, Kip had seen both Nomads return and walk straight into a church meeting with the other Nomads.

He knew then that something had happened.

Being the newest patched member, Kip wasn't privy to everything going on within the club, but his gut told him something had happened. Murmurs from some of the others, confirmed that something more had developed concerning the brothers. And this time, Addison was in the middle of it.

Opie had somberly joked with Kip earlier, that he probably patched in at the worst possible time. The club was just starting to recover again after the stress of the last few months. Zobelle had fled the country before Jax could seek revenge for Gemma, and the ATF agent, Stahl, went back to Washington.

It was time to regroup, get the Irish gun business back online and pump a little life back into the club. But then, all of a sudden, they lost a charter President and now his daughter and the club are being hunted by two psychopathic brothers. Didn't the club have enough shit to deal with already, what with the Mayans and the One-Niners?

Would the club survive after all this?

Just as sleep was about to claim him, Kip heard a rather loud shuffling noise. It was late and the clubhouse was quiet. Everyone inside should already be asleep. He sat up, turned on the lamp on his nightstand, and looked around the see the source of the noise. He didn't see anything but he did hear the noise again, and this time it sounded like whimpering? The walls between rooms were rather thin and although there were no croweaters in the clubhouse tonight, he would not put it past a brother to sneak a girl in.

However, as he heard another whimper, he concluded that this was not the sound of pleasure. It was one of distress. It took less than a minute for Kip to get up and put on a pair jersey shorts that had been tossed over his desk chair. He grabbed his gun and as he opened the door, he heard a third whimper and realized it was coming from Addison's room. As Kip walked across the hallway, images of Ax in Addison's room flooded his mind. If Stone had dealt with Ax, he wouldn't be stupid enough to try something again, would he? If he did, this time Kip was armed and would not hesitate to shoot if the situation called for it, even if the situation was a fellow brother.

Standing in front of Addison's door, gun at the ready, Kip tested the door handle.

It was not locked.

Keeping a firm hold on his Glock, Kip slowly opened the door. As he entered quickly, Kip pointed the gun to the same corner where he found Ax last time. However, this time, there was no one there.

Hearing another whimper, Kip lowered his gun and looked to Addison's bed to see her twisting and turning. Even from where he stood, he could see her furrowed brows and scrunched up face. Walking over to her bed, he flicked on her lamp. In the soft light, he could see she was struggling against her sheets, as if fighting off an invisible foe. It also sounded like she was talking to someone. He could barely make out what she was saying, but he definitely heard the words, _'no…please…stop'_. Whatever had a hold of her in her nightmare; he couldn't walk away and leave her trapped with it.

Locking the safety back into place, he set his gun down on the nightstand beside her bed. He knelled down onto the floor so that he was level with her. While in the military, he had learned from experience to never wake someone from a nightmare while hovering over him. Given the way Addison was thrashing around and the words she was uttering, he could only guess what her nightmare held. If he woke her while standing above her, it would certainly not end well, and would only terrify her more.

He placed a gentle hand on her and said softly, but clearly, "Addison." However, she did not wake and her thrashing became more violent. Before Kip could try again, she let out a loud shriek as she bolted upright with her eyes open. She was breathing in short rapid bursts. Kip knew the whole clubhouse would soon be barging into her room, but he needed to make sure she was okay.

He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and asked, "Hey, you alright?" Addison stopped breathing and turned around to look at Kip. Then, as her eyes focused on him, she let out a loud blood curdling scream.

**SOA**

Racing down the hallway, Happy was only a step behind Hammer. The larger Son was single minded in his task, which was to reach Addison's room. As they stood in front of her slightly open door, another scream ripped through the air. Without missing a beat, Hammer banged the door wide open. Although the lighting was dim, Happy could see Half-Sack kneeling at Addison's bedside, his back towards the two Nomads. Addison was sitting up straight in the bed, facing him, her mouth still slightly open from screaming.

As Happy was still assessing the scene, he heard Hammer's angry growl, "The fuck you do to her?" He looked up, to see that Hammer had lifted Sack up from the floor and had him pushed up against the wall. He saw the terror in the kid's face, but if he was responsible for making Addison scream, a furious Hammer was probably the least of his worries.

"Wait, wha-, I didn't..." Sack sputtered, however he really wasn't able to form coherent sentences. With gun still in hand, Hammer had his forearm pressed against the base of Kip's throat. Happy, took this opportunity to check out the rest of the room. When he first saw Addison's open door, he thought maybe Ax was stupid enough to creep on the girl again. He thought that he had made his 'point' perfectly clear to his sneaky brother. But now seeing Sack in her room, Happy's still sleep heavy brain realized that Sack had been the one to tell Stone about Ax. How had _he_ known about Ax?

Happy knew Sack was interested in Addison. The kid wasn't exactly 'covert' with his stares and definitely had that puppy dog look to him. What the hell was he up to? If he did anything to hurt her, Hammer was a teddy bear, compared to how Clay would react. As he finished checking the bathroom, Happy came back in the room to see Hammer still had Sack pressed up against the wall.

"What the hell happened?" Happy's tired voice came out sounding like he had just gargled gravel. He watched as Sack tried to answer, but he could barely make a sound for Hammer had not moved his arm. Happy considered telling Hammer to ease up, at least so the kid could tell them what happened. But then he looked over at Addison, who was still sitting up, holding the covers tight against her chest. The girl was as white as a sheet, like she had seen a ghost.

Before Happy could ask her what happened, Addison spoke up, "Hammer, put him down. He didn't hurt me." Her voice was very low and sounded weak. Happy figured it must be hoarse from all the screaming.

Happy looked over to see Hammer had eased up, but only a little. The big Nomad turned around to look at Addison and asked, "You sure?"

Addison nodded quickly. "Yes, please Hammer, let him go before you hurt him." Her breathing was a little erratic. Happy wondered what the two of them were doing.

Finally, Hammer let go and dropped the kid, who landed on shaky legs. He hunched over to try and inhale as much air as possible, then rubbed his throat. Happy saw Hammer turn to look at Addison with a softness in his eyes that was most unusual for the big Son who just seconds ago had a fellow member pressed up against wall, ready to suffocate the poor bastard if warranted.

"What the hell is going on?" Clay's angry voice boomed from the open door as he turned on the room's main light. Both Clay and Stone were standing at the door and behind them Happy could see Tig and Koz standing in the hallway. They were both dressed, but Tig was holding onto his jeans, for if he let go, they looked like they would certainly fall down.

Happy answered first, "Heard screaming, came to check it out." He then stowed away his gun, tucking it into the back of his waistband. He watched as Hammer followed suit.

"Fuck, we all heard the screaming. " Clay retorted. "Care to tell me why?"

"Ask him," Hammer said as he turned to glare at Sack.

Sack raised his hands in surrender, "I heard noises and came to check it out. I swear."

Clay started to approach Sack when they all heard Addison's plea, "Clay, no, please he didn't do anything." He stopped and turned to face Addison. "Please, I had a nightmare, that's all. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause any trouble."

All this was over a nightmare? So Sack didn't do anything? Happy couldn't believe he raced down the hall for a fucking nightmare. But then he looked at Addison again, at the look on her face, her rapid breathing, and he thought about all the shit the girl had gone through. He sighed as he rubbed a hand over his face. He guessed maybe the girl was allowed a nightmare. But did she have to wake up the whole club?

Happy watched as Clay's face softened slightly. Then the President went over to the desk and pulled out the chair, dragging it to Addison's bedside. As Clay sat down, Stone spoke in a tone left no room for argument, "Alright, show's over, everyone out."

He waited until Hammer left the room. Then with a nod to Clay, Happy followed him out. When he crossed the doorway into the hall, he saw the doors to the other rooms were open and the occupants poking their heads out, curious about the disturbance.

Stone waved them back into their rooms, "It's okay, go back to bed." Slowly the occupants retreated and the doors closed. Tig had also returned to his room and Happy saw Koz down the hall, standing in front of Bear's room talking quietly to the Tacoma President.

Half-Sack had joined them and closed the door behind him, giving Clay and Addison their privacy. Happy was about to return to his own room when he heard Hammer say, "I want to stay, keep watch."

Happy turned around to see Stone shaking his head no, "Hammer, you have a mission tomorrow. I need you ready and alert."

"I'll be fine." Hammer's response was fast and firm.

But Stone wasn't President for shits and giggles. He was one of the few Sons who could manage Hammer. He responded, "And so is she. It was a nightmare Hammer, how're you gonna protect her from a nightmare?"

Happy watched as Hammer opened his mouth to argue, but Stone cut him off, "And if anything does happen, there's an entire clubhouse full of Sons here."

"Yeah, I'm right across the hall. I can be here in seconds." Sack piped up. Happy wanted to like the kid, but sometimes he wondered just how dumb he could be. He had good intentions, but that was not something you wanted to say to Hammer at a time like this. After what happened earlier, Sack basically just signed his own death warrant.

As Happy predicted, Hammer gave Sack a look that could kill as he took a step towards him. But before he could take a second step, Stone stepped in, and placed a hand on the big Nomad's chest. "Hammer, that's enough!" Hammer just continued to glare at Sack.

Happy decided to help his President out. Besides, the quicker Hammer stopped this, the quicker he could get back to sleep.

"Come on man, the girl's fine. Could have some serious ass-kicking tomorrow." Happy clapped Hammer on the shoulder. "Don't wanna miss that cuz you _overslept_, do ya?"

Hammer didn't respond, but nodded and turned around to return to the room. Happy rubbed his hand over his head and said to Half-Sack, "Stay outta his way kid." He didn't even wait for his reaction. With a nod to Stone, Happy walked back to his room as well to get some shut-eye. He really hoped tomorrow was the day this whole ordeal could be over.

**SOA**

Addison's heart rate was slowly coming down and her breathing was no longer as ragged. But she was afraid to close her eyes again as the images just kept flooding her mind's eye. She couldn't 'see' anything in her nightmare, but she heard 'his' voice. It was the same voice as the one on the radio that she and Happy heard, back in the woods of Alaska. It was the same man who killed her father. It was the man who wanted her, the one who probably would not stop until he got her.

Addison looked up to see Clay sitting on a chair at the side of her bed, facing her. He had been silent this whole time, giving her time to gather herself. She reached out to him, not caring if it made her look like a frightened little girl.

After that nightmare, she just needed a hug.

He didn't comment as he held her. "Shh, it's alright." He comforted as he stroked her hair. "Care to tell me what the hell caused you to wake up half of Charming?" He sounded amused, but the concern was also there, clear as day.

"I'm so sorry Uncle Clay. I didn't mean to wake everyone up." She said against his chest as she tried to control her breathing. She didn't want to tell him, but really, she knew she needed to. "It was…it was horrible. You were all dead. He killed you all."

She felt Clay's sigh as he pulled back to look at her. "Ok, why don't you start at the beginning?"

Addison took a deep breath and began, "We were all outside in the parking lot. It was a gorgeous day and I think we were having a picnic." She paused and looked down to the bed, "Then all of a sudden, there were gun shots and everyone was falling, one by one onto the ground, dead. There was so much blood. Everyone was dead, except me."

Addison blinked rapidly to keep the tears at bay, she did not need to start crying. Clay embraced her again and said, "It's okay, take your time."

She nodded her head and then took a breath before she continued, "It was him, the one that killed my dad. I heard his voice, his laugh." She then closed her eyes. "I can still hear it."

She opened her eyes again quickly. "I couldn't see him, but I know it's him. I know you said he has a brother too, but I couldn't see _anyone_. But he, or them, seemed to be everywhere at once. I begged him to stop, even though I couldn't see him. He just laughed that evil laugh. He killed you all, one at a time."

Her heart started to speed up again. She couldn't shake that laughing. It was still ringing in her ears.

"Okay, Addison, look at me." Clay lifted her head up, "Nothing is going to happen to us, you hear?" Addison didn't answer, but shook her head. "Hey, it's going to take a lot more than some sickos to take the Sons down. We are too stubborn and too mean to go down without a fight." Clay gave her a sarcastic smile.

Addison returned the smile with a tiny one of her own. He then leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. "You get some sleep, okay?" Addison nodded and watched as Clay got up and returned the chair to the table. As he reached the door and opened it, he turned around and pointed to her, "No more nightmares.'

Addison nodded, "No more nightmares." Then she watched Clay turn off the main light and close the door behind him.

**SOA**

As Kip watched the three Nomads all return to their rooms, he wondered just how close Hammer was to Addison. It had not escaped his notice that he was just a little too overprotective of her. Kip remembered overhearing Bull mention that this was just how Hammer was. But he hadn't done anything to Addison, yet Hammer was still pissed off. He would never hurt Addison. The truth was he really liked her and really cared about her. But he was trying his best to give her space and let her decide what she wanted. In the meantime, he would be there for her as her friend.

Kip rubbed the place along his collarbone where Hammer had held him as he returned to his bedroom. Although he wanted to make sure Addison was all right, Clay was still in her room. He wanted to know what caused Addison to scream at him like that. What was her nightmare about? Was it…had he been in her nightmare? Given her mumbled words, it was clear someone was hurting her. Was he the one hurting her?

As he lay back down on his bed to try and get some sleep, Kip realized he left his gun back in Addison's room, on her nightstand. He had other guns in the room and Addison knew how to use one, so there was no reason to return to her room tonight. Deciding to leave it until morning, Kip leaned over to click off the nightstand lamp, but stopped as he heard the door across the hall open, then close.

Clay had left.

Thinking it over, it really was less about the gun and more about making sure Addison was alright. The look in her eyes when she screamed earlier was something he wouldn't easily forget. And if he was the threat in her nightmare, he needed to know. He wanted to reassure her that he would never hurt her. She already had two, very real threats hunting her. She didn't need more threats in her dreams. Making up his mind, Kip got back up and made his way to the door.

He looked down both sides of the hallway and not seeing anyone, crossed it to Addison's door for the second time that night.

**SOA **

Once Clay closed the door behind him, Addison scooted back down the bed, underneath the covers. She didn't think she would be able to go back to sleep tonight. As much as she knew the dream wasn't real, she still felt guilty. This was all because of her. And no matter how much Clay tried to alleviate her fears, she knew everyone was in danger.

As she turned onto her side to turn off the lamp, she saw a gun lying on the nightstand. Someone must have left it there. She didn't remember seeing Clay with a gun and she thought she saw Hammer and Happy put theirs away. The only other person in the room who was near the nightstand was Kip.

Just at that moment, there was a light knock at her door. "Come in," Addison called out as she sat up. Then she and grabbed the gun and pointed it at the door, just in case.

Sure enough, Kip poked his head around the door and started to enter the room. "Hey, sorry, I left my gun…Whoa!" He stopped and held his hands in surrender as he saw Addison with the gun aimed right at him.

Addison lowered the gun with an embarrassed look on her face. "Sorry, just being cautious. This yours?" She asked as she started to pull back to covers to get out of bed and walk the gun over to him.

As Kip closed the door behind him, he replied, "Yeah, oh, don't get up. I got it." He was at her bedside in a few quick strides.

"Sorry about tonight." She handed him the gun while sitting up in her bed, pulling the covers over herself and gathering them in her lap. She just noticed Kip wasn't wearing a shirt and his hair was still damp. She hadn't exactly been in the right state of mind to really notice much of anything earlier. He must have just taken a shower and been getting ready for bed.

"I didn't mean to wake everyone up. And I'm really sorry about Hammer." She apologized as she looked down at her hands and rubbed them. Most of the redness from hitting the punching bag was gone, but her skin was still a little rough.

Kip placed the gun back on the nightstand and sat down on the edge of her bed. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hey, come on. No need to apologize. I'm just glad you're alright." He sounded very sincere considering the scene she woke up to earlier. "And you certainly weren't responsible for Hammer's behavior." He chuckled lightly.

She smiled a tiny bit, but continued to look at her hands. "Thanks, but if it weren't for my screaming at you, none of that would have happened." Then she looked up at him. "Thanks for waking me up, by the way."

Kip removed his hand and leaned on the bed, "Yeah, about that, you wanna talk?" He asked her.

Addison looked away as she shook her head no. She didn't want to talk about it anymore. After telling Clay, she just wanted to forget about the whole thing.

Kip asked cautiously, "It wasn't…I didn't hurt…I mean you woke up and saw me and…" Addison turned quickly to look Kip with wide eyes. Did he think he was hurting her in her dream?

"What? No, no…it's nothing like that." Addison reassured him. He breathed a sigh of relief, but then gave her a very concerned look. The look in his eyes brought back the images from her nightmare. She closed her eyes and just blurted out, "It was horrible. Everyone was dead."

She couldn't shake the images from her dream. When she opened her eyes Kip had a shocked expression on his face. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything."

Kip recovered quickly and tilted his head to give her a warm smile, "It's okay. You know I said last time, that it helps to talk about it." It was obvious he wasn't planning on going anywhere. He was right though. It did help last time, maybe it'll help again. She hadn't seen him since last night. He probably didn't even know about what happened earlier in the day.

Addison brought her knees up under the covers and wrapped her arms around them. She took a deep breath and then told Kip everything that had happened with the card, Clay and Stone telling her about the two brothers, how mad she was, and then finally, her dream. "…we were outside in the lot, at a picnic. You and I were talking and…"

Addison paused and looked down at her bed again. She had left this part out of her version to Clay. The truth was, Kip was in her dream, but he wasn't hurting her. They were just talking, but they were sitting very close together, his arm around her shoulders. Their heads were leaned in towards each other as they talked and giggled in hushed tones. Even in the dream, she could feel the intimacy of the moment.

Then, it all went to hell.

She took a deep breath, "All of sudden I heard gunshots. I looked around everyone fell to the ground, one by one, dead." Kip didn't say anything for which Addison was grateful. She continued to stare at her bed covers, still not looking at him, not looking into those eyes.

Addison was brought back to reality when she felt Kip's hand cover hers. She looked up at him and saw the little nod he gave her. That helped her to continue. "I couldn't see him, but I know it was him, the guy that killed my dad. There was so much blood and everyone was dead, Clay, Stone, Hammer, Happy…" then she looked Kip in the eyes, "…you. I turned back to look at you and there was a bullet wound in your chest. And…"

Here was the part she dreaded telling him. But, maybe once she told someone, then she could accept it for what it really was, just a bad dream. She decided to keep going, "And then you looked at me. Your eyes narrowed, like you were mad at me. Then you said _'This is all your fault', _and then you fell. I tried to catch you, but next thing I knew, you were lying flat on the ground and my hands were covered in blood and your eyes…they were still open, but completely vacant."

Here Addison paused and took another deep breath, "I tried to stop him, I did…"

She looked over to desk, needing somewhere to focus her eyes. She didn't want to close her eyes. She didn't want to see his prone body, his eyes. In her nightmare, even his vacant eyes accused her. It reminded her too much of the very real image of her father taking his last breath. The pain and guilt of losing him still weighed heavily on her. And now, the threat of these brothers was so very real that she had to admit, it was too much for her. She had become close to a few members of the club, and despite her feelings about the club itself, they were slowly starting to feel like her family. She wouldn't be able to handle it if anything happened to Clay, or anyone else.

Addison heard Kip's quiet voice, "So when you woke up and saw me…" he surmised, "that's why you screamed. You thought I was dead."

Addison nodded, but stayed quiet. She didn't want to see Kip's reaction. She suddenly felt embarrassed for telling him. He must have thought she was just being silly. Would he even understand?

She heard him say, "You know, it's not your fault. None of us blame you for any of this, Addison."

Addison didn't react, didn't move at all, until she felt him take her right hand and lay it flat against his bare chest. Addison turned to look at him with a slightly shocked expression. He just held her hand over his heart, "Feel that? That's my heart beating. I'm alive. I'm real. And _I_ do not blame you."

She stared at her hand on his chest. He was right. There was no bullet hole, no blood. He was alive and his skin was warm. She could even feel his heartbeat, strong and steady beating underneath her palm. She couldn't help herself as she moved her hand up his collar, where she smoothed over a red spot. She assumed this is where Hammer had held him. Then, as if independent of her brain, her palm brushed over his nipple, as it moved its way to his stomach. Addison thought she heard his intake of breath, but she was too focused to notice. She wanted to make sure that he was real, that this wasn't just a dream. She couldn't help but take in his body as her hand explored his abdomen. He was probably a little too thin to have a six pack, but he was pretty well defined. She would probably describe him as wiry. She had known that he was in good shape, but now she could see it with his torso laid bare for her appreciate.

Addison straightened out her legs and scooted closer to him. She ran both hands up and down his torso, almost as if in a trance. She didn't even realize what she was doing until she felt Kip cup her cheek with one hand and whisper, "Addi-son?" She looked up and stared into his light blue eyes. This time his eyes did not look concerned, accusatory, or vacant. In fact, she thought she saw a look of desire?

She had no idea what made her do it, but something about the feel of his skin on hers made her crave more. But it was more than just physical. She wanted, needed that _connection,_ that intimacy she felt in her dream. Before she could stop herself, she slid her hands up his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck. Then, without hesitation, she leaned up and kissed him, a soft but firm kiss, not like the tentative one she gave him last time.

She felt him hesitate for a second before one of his arms wrap around her, as his other hand held the back of her head. His kiss was a little more insistent that hers. Somewhere, way back, buried deep in a hidden corner of her brain, was a tiny voice warning her to stop, that this was a bad idea, that she wasn't ready. However, she couldn't hear the voice as she leaned back down on the bed and pulled Kip on top of her.

Addison felt Kip unwrap his arm as she lay down. He braced his right arm on the bed next to her as his other hand moved up and down her side, over her tank top. The tip of his tongue pushed gently in between her lips. She opened her mouth and their tongues danced and tangled as her arms tightened around his neck. He moved his right hand to curl around her shoulder, bringing their bodies closer together. She felt a delicious sense of warmth wash through her as the weight of his body sank down on top of hers. Then, the hand that was stroking her side moved under her tank top, to play with her tender breast.

His hands were slightly rough, with the beginnings of calluses forming. The roughness against her smooth skin caused little goose pimples to form and her nipple hardened under his ministrations. Addison fisted her left hand into his still damp hair. He eventually broke away from her lips, only to trail hot kisses up and down the left side of her face and throat. Gently, he took her earlobe in between his teeth and licked her lobe with the tip of his tongue. She felt a soft moan escape her lips from deep within her chest.

Still holding onto his hair, Addison buried her face into his neck and inhaled his scent. He smelled very clean. It reminded her of those commercials for mountain fresh soap. She never realized how intoxicating 'clean' could be. As she ran her other hand up and down his spine, she started to kiss his neck. She felt more than heard the growl that erupted from his chest.

She then felt Kip release her ear and heard his ragged breathing in her ear. "I want you Addison," his breath hot against her face, "Fuck, I want you." All the little hairs on her skin stood at his confession. Addison tilted her head back and released another moan. Her breathing was becoming more frantic. Never before, had she felt like this.

Kip then pushed up her tank top to expose her breasts, as he moved down to take her right nipple into his mouth. Using the tip of his tongue, he lightly flicked her nipple and then rolled his tongue around the hard nub. Addison released a deep, guttural groan that shot straight to her core. God, she was so turned on.

She didn't even know she had opened her legs until she felt Kip take her left leg and wrap it around his hip. Then he slid his hand under her sleep shorts and started to knead her butt cheek. That's when she felt his arousal pressing hot and hard against her center. She also felt his hand move to the front of her thigh and his thumb moved closer to her…

And that's when the voice came back full force screaming in her head. This time she had no choice but to hear it. What the hell was she doing? She couldn't do this, not now, not like this. She had to stop him. She un-fisted her hand from his hair and braced both of her hands against his shoulders as she said, "Kip." Unfortunately with the roughness of her voice, it seemed to only encourage him as pressed into her.

This time she used a little more force and tried again, "Kip, wait," again, he didn't seem to hear her. "Kip, Stop." She was able to push him off as his mouth released her nipple with a pop. He moved his hands to either side of her and braced them on the bed. "Wha…what's wrong?" His voice was rough and sound strangled. God, he really was going to hate her now.

"I can't…I'm sorry, we have to stop." His eyes were glazed over. His breathing was rough and hard. She could tell he was trying to make sense of her words. She could only imagine the haze of arousal that was clouding his mind, but she couldn't let this go any further. She just hoped they could try to stay friends after this.

She pushed him back as she tried to sit up. It seemed to finally click for him as he scooted back and sat on the bed with his legs folded underneath him. Addison pulled down her tank, covering herself, as she sat up and brushed her hair back.

She stared into his puzzled looking face and took a deep, calming breath. "God, Kip, I'm sorry." She could tell he was still trying to get his breathing under control. "Please don't hate me."

He didn't say anything so she plowed forward, "I like you. I really do. And I want this, but..." she waved a hand between them, "but I'm not even sure what this is yet. And with all the danger threatening the club, I just don't think I can do this right now." She noticed his breathing was finally under control. She sat back and gave him room to leave if he wanted to. She couldn't blame him if he did.

Kip sat up and swung his legs off the side of the bed as he sat back down on the edge of the bed. He hunched over and ran his hands through his hair. He still had not said anything.

Addison never meant to lead him on. She just got a little caught up in the sensations she was feeling and the way her body reacted. But she knew she wasn't ready for this, not now. She knew she was right in stopping them and she would stand by her decision. Finally, Kip said in a soft voice, "Shit, shit."

She wasn't sure what he meant and he was still staring at the floor. She called his name quietly, "Kip?"

He turned around to look at her, "It's okay. I get it, you're not ready." He gave her a smile, but she could see it didn't reach his eyes. Was he just saying that to ease her mind, or his own?

"You're…you're not mad?" She asked him curiously. "It's okay, you can tell me the truth."

He shook his head slightly, "No, I'm not mad." She must have given him a disbelieving look for he added, "Really, I'm not. I'm a little disappointed." Then he looked down at his lap, "And I'll need a few minutes before I can stand up." He said as he chuckled lightly.

Addison blushed as she looked down. She was a little 'uncomfortable' herself. Part of her wanted to just give into her body and be with him tonight. She really did like him, but she knew that was not the smart choice. She needed to listen to her brain on this one. She felt bad, but hopefully they could get through this. And then one day when she was ready, maybe…

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt Kip cover her hand with his. She looked up at him as he said, "Why don't you get some sleep?"

She nodded, "I am sorry."

"I know." Kip replied with an almost sad smile.

He got up and grabbed his gun from the nightstand. She felt him lean down and give her a peck on the cheek as he whispered, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," She whispered as he walked towards the door.

Once he had the door open, he looked back and said, "I'll see you tomorrow?" All Addison could do was nod. Then he left and closed the door behind him.

Addison was pretty sure she would not be getting anymore sleep tonight.

_**Authors Note:**_ Before anyone writes to tell us that they are confused, this is a Happy story, but as we have said in past chapters, things MUST happen before anything takes place between Addison and the biker that we all know and love. So please keep that in mind. Also, the next chapter should be out in a few days. We are just making a few last minute tweaks here and there.

Thank you again for reading!


	21. Chapter 21

_**Authors Notes:**_ Well, this took a little longer than we anticipated. But as promised, here is the next chapter in the story. This was going to be a part of the last chapter, but it was just too long that we had to split it up.

_**Thank you to:**_ Wicked in Boston, HappysHitwoman, Running Wild-22, ShiloCoulter, Angel N Darkness, CtLady, ozlady80, Sliver of Melody, msgemgem, Meg Pairrer, zoelynbowie, Slytherin Studios and Dutch'76 for reviewing the last chapter, and letting us know what you thought about it.

**Update: 5-21-2011, there is a new poll on DanniMitchell85's profile page. Who is your favorite original Nomad? **The poll is listed at the top of the page. You can only vote once, so if you are not sure who your favorite wondering biker is yet, you can wait to take the poll.

**Born to Die **

**Chapter 21**

**Written By: **DanniMitchell85 and Kaylalong

The next morning Addison discovered that apparently, she really had woken up half of Charming last night with her screaming. It was hard to ignore the looks she had received all morning from the other Sons. However, Addison held her head high and continued with the task before her. She would not let these men think that all the stress had finally gotten to her.

After all, she was the one who had demanded that Clay tell her what was going on. Before, the threat hadn't seemed real. It was just one crazy man. But now, she knew it was a pair of brothers who wanted her specifically, had killed her dad, were finding others to help them, and would stop at nothing until they got her. She would not admit that it was too much for her to handle. She had one bad dream, that was all. Addison just hoped she would survive all this with her sanity intact.

"Mmm…bacon…you gals sure are making it hard to leave." Addison was stirred out of her thoughts by the Son standing next to her as she filled one of the chafing dishes. She turned around to see Stark, President of the Portland, Oregon charter. He was maybe a few years younger than Clay, with a similar build and height. However, Stark had a full head of thick, jet-black hair and was clean shaven.

She gave him a smile and asked, "Do you need anything?"

"Nah, me and my boys are good. Thanks." Stark replied warmly as he filled his plate with a few slices of bacon and walked on.

Addison returned to the kitchen to see if Gemma needed anything. It was announced to everyone earlier, that Clay was lifting the lockdown and sending the visiting Sons back to their home charters. However, Gemma wasn't letting anyone leave until they were nice and fed. For the last few hours Addison had been helping her and the other old ladies with the cooking. She didn't mind as she had been up early anyways.

Sleep eluded her after Kip left. She had been pretty aroused, the throbbing in her center had not ceased after his departure. Addison even considered 'finishing herself off', but was too embarrassed to do so. And when she closed her eyes to try and go back to sleep, all she saw were the images from her nightmare. So after a few hours of tossing and turning, she got up and found Gemma getting started in the kitchen. Elli joined them soon after.

Neither old lady pressed Addison for details, something she was thankful for_._ Elli only mentioned that Bear had gone out to the hallway to see what had happened and spoke to Kozik. She gave Addison a hug and told her that she was there if she ever needed to talk. Gemma just gave her a sympathetic look and said, '_You got a lot of shit on your plate. Nightmares happen.'_ Given what Gemma had told her when Addison first arrived in Charming, she guessed the older woman had her own share of nightmares. She couldn't even imagine the kind of nightmares Gemma had to deal with after what she lived through. Addison only hoped she could push through her own demons, and hold it together as well as Gemma did.

Tara, Lyla and some of the other old ladies showed up later and they all worked together on breakfast. Gemma even sent someone out to a local diner for some pies. Addison appreciated the busy work to keep her mind off of other things. She had seen Kip earlier when he came out to the main room. They exchanged pleasantries and awkward smiles, and then he went on to help get the other Sons ready to leave. Something about the way he left last night made Addison feel as if something had shifted between them. She hoped that with time, they would figure this out, whatever 'this' was supposed to be.

Walking back out to the main room, Addison looked around to see that most of the Sons were getting ready to leave. As she helped clean up, she looked over to see Clay giving Stark a hug and a pat on the back. Then she watched as the Portland President walked towards her. He took her hands in his right hand, and placed his left on her shoulder. "I'm sorry we had to meet like this. But just so you know, you're always welcome with the Sons in Portland." He said as he looked her in the eye.

With a smile Addison replied, "Thank you. I'll remember that."

With a squeeze of her shoulder, Stark turned around and called to his men. "What the hell you waiting for? Let's saddle up!"

_**SOA **_

Happy and Hammer had finished breakfast and were outside having their cigarettes. There was nothing like the pure bliss of smoking after eating. For Happy, a meal was not complete until he had his cigarette. They were also given the task of making sure that the other charters left without incident.

Happy had not said anything last night when Clay lifted lockdown, but he personally disagreed with the National President. He understood the club needed to get back to club business, to get back to _normal_. Given that they had pretty much determined the identities of the two brothers, there was no reason to keep so many Sons in one place. They would all just be sitting ducks.

However, and Happy would never say this aloud, he guessed Clay's decision really had more to do with Addison. He wanted to show her that there was nothing to worry about, that they had this handled. From the beginning, it was clear Clay was too close to this whole thing. Yes, Quinn was his brother-in-law and the man had a right to grieve, as did they all. But Clay's personal relationship with the girl was starting to cloud his judgment. He wasn't just making decisions about his own family. He was making decisions about the club as well, and Happy felt Clay was being a little hasty. What was another day? They could have waited until the bastards were dead before sending the other charters back home. The Sons needed their President to be strong and lead them, not trying to pretend that everything was fine for some young woman.

And Clay wasn't the only one losing focus. Happy had noticed how Hammer kept his eyes on Addison the entire time during breakfast. After he finally got Hammer back into the room last night, the big Nomad just grumbled about what happened. He went on and on about how Addison slept fine when he had been guarding her, that he only wanted to make sure she was okay. Happy just sighed and ignored his comments, trying to go back to sleep as quickly as possible.

Happy respected Hammer; the man was a great Son. He was dedicated, didn't ask a lot of questions, and always got the job done. Hammer's personality, however, didn't really know degrees or boundaries. It was clear he was getting a little too attached to Addison. Hammer had only known her for a few weeks, just like the rest of them, but his behavior last night went beyond simple security. From the way he went after Sack, even after they found out it was just a nightmare, Happy could tell that Hammer had appointed himself as Addison's overprotective big brother. He was protecting more than just her well being; he was protecting her virtue.

So what if she and Sack _were _doing something? It certainly wasn't Hammer's place to decide who Addison could or couldn't see. It was barely Clay's place. Addison and Sack are both adults. As long as it's consensual, it really was nobody's business. Happy ignored the niggling feeling in the pit of his stomach at the idea of the two of them together. Like he said, it was nobody's business…nobody's.

Happy had just ground out his cigarette butt as he heard the clubhouse doors open. He looked up from the picnic table to see the Portland charter file out.

"Guess Stark's heading out." Hammer commented as he ground out his own cigarette.

Happy hopped off the table and started walking over with Hammer following closely behind. "Stark." Happy greeted, as he held out his hand.

"Hap…Hammer" The president returned the gesture with both Nomads. "I may be calling on you guys in a few days. Got some shit going down, may need backup. I'll know more once I get back." Stark explained as he got on his Harley and put his helmet on.

Nodding, Happy told the president, "Sure, just give Stone a ring." He was pretty confident that by the time Stark called, Quinn's killers would have been dealt with. Although the threat against Addison was top priority, the club had a lot of other shit they were dealing with. As much as the entire club was out for blood to avenge Quinn, each charter still had its own share of problems to deal with. It was time to focus back on the club as a whole. The Nomads could not turn a blind eye to a charter in need.

Stark nodded in reply, and then Happy and Hammer watched as the Portland Sons rode out of the lot, the thunderous sound of their Harleys filling the air around the shop.

After Portland and some of the other charters had all taken off, Tacoma was the only remaining charter. Happy went back inside for some coffee. As he made his way to the kitchen, Addison intercepted him and asked if he needed anything. After he told her, she came back with a steaming cup of black coffee, just the way he took it. As he walked back towards the door, he realized that he never told her how he wanted his coffee. She must have just noticed from the previous morning. Happy came back outside to see Hammer sitting back on picnic table flipping through a Hot Rod magazine.

As he joined Hammer, he thought about how tired Addison looked, a contrast to her brightness from the previous morning. She probably didn't get much sleep after her nightmare last night. Even though he was pissed that her damn nightmare had woken up the club, Happy had to admit, if only to himself, that Addison's look of distress had bothered him. The girl was twenty for fuck's sake. She should be going to college or working. She should be hanging with friends, going out, and doing whatever female shit women did.

Instead, Addison was confined to remain inside the walls of a motorcycle clubhouse while trying to escape two psychopaths who had killed her father. It ticked him off that she even had to deal with something like this. However, Happy had to admit the girl was hanging in there, if only by a thread. He saw the way she ignored the looks and whispers from the other Sons earlier that morning. Apparently word of Addison's nightmare had spread like wildfire. Fuck, what the hell were grown bikers doing gossiping about her nightmare anyways?

Happy looked over as the door opened and Koz walked out with another Tacoma member, Donut, and one of their prospects, all with bags in hand.

"Looks like Tacoma's finally headin' out." Hammer spoke up, then grumbled under his breath, "'bout damn time."

Holding back a grin, Happy nodded to the blond SAA as he came over, leaving the other two to secure the bags onto the Harleys. Happy felt Hammer put down his magazine and get up. He continued to sip his coffee and watch Donut and the prospect, trying his best to ignore Hammer. Apparently his larger brother had begun to develop a rivalry with Koz. Wasn't his long standing rivalry with Cooler enough? It certainly was enough for the rest of them. But, it was Hammer's nature to be competitive, in _everything_. The man just didn't back down from a challenge. Hell, most of the time, Hammer threw out the challenge.

Happy noticed that neither man had said anything to each other. He looked up to see both Hammer and Koz standing toe to toe, staring each other down. Hammer was standing at his full height, making sure to use all six feet and four inches to try and intimidate Koz. The blond SAA was only a couple of inches shorter, but Hammer's solid mass overshadowed him.

"Next time you're near Tacoma, stop by. I can beat you at arm wrestling again." Koz said with his cocky smile.

"Yeah? How're gonna do that with a broken arm?" Hammer threatened as he rubbed his fist with his other hand, and leaned down to get in Koz's face.

"Pfft...like you could break anything." Koz said with arms crossed over his chest, holding his ground. Happy knew Koz was just baiting Hammer, and he certainly could handle himself in a fight. But if the blond didn't watch it, his next stop would be the hospital, not Tacoma. Hammer was taller, bigger, and pretty damn fast for his size. But the most dangerous part about Hammer was his temper, which hot and short. Any guy that pushed Hammer too far usually found himself on the wrong end of his fist.

Before Hammer could retort, the door opened again and Clay walked out with Bear and Stone, with the women following close behind. Gemma was standing next to Clay, who was talking to the other two presidents. Elli was leaning down and speaking softly to Addison. As Happy watched the two women, his mind wandered over to Addison once again. He was always one to appreciate an attractive woman and Addison definitely was one – blonde and curvy in all the right places. She had a natural beauty, didn't need tons of makeup, skimpy clothes, or those scary looking nails.

Happy could certainly understand why Sack was attracted to her. Before that annoying feeling in his stomach could come back, Happy put down his coffee cup and followed Koz and Hammer to say farewell to Tacoma. Bear came over and Happy shook hands with his former President as he leaned in for a brotherly hug.

"Stay safe, Hap," Bear said and then pointed to Addison and Elli, "And make sure nothing happens to the girl. Elli's a little fond of her, and you know my old lady. You do not want to piss her off." Bear smirked as he gave Happy a wink.

After fifteen years, Happy had seen Elli pissed off a few times and it was not a pretty sight. Not that Happy could ever be scared by an old lady, but he smirked at Bear and said, "Won't happen. Hammer won't let it." However, Happy didn't mention that he wouldn't let anything happen to Addison either.

"Hah, I'd hate to be the guy staring down an angry Hammer." As they chuckled over the large Son, they heard Stone from where he was standing by Clay.

"Hammer, knock it off." At Stone's comment, everyone turned around to see Hammer shaking hands with Koz. However, there wasn't any actual shaking. Both men had fists locked, arms twitching, and strained looks on their faces.

"Oh for shit's sake." Bear turned to Stone and said, "Stone, your boy needs to leave my SAA alone." He shook his head as he rubbed the point between his eyes.

"Heh," Clay barked out in laughter. "Let them get it out of their systems. I've still got to deal with Hammer after you leave." He pulled out a cigar and lit it.

"Hell, this could take all day." Stone said from beside them. "If they're going to do this, then they should do it right."

"Shouldn't fight before a long ride." Happy added in his thoughts. He knew better than any Son that the best way to deal with this was to have it out in the ring. However, a fight right now was not the best idea.

With a wicked grin, Stone responded, "Who said anything about a fight?"

He then walked over to them and said, "you're going to do this like men," as he pulled Koz and Hammer apart. "The challenge is pushups – First one to reach one hundred wins."

By this time some of the other Sons had come outside and gathered around them, curious as to what was happening. Happy laughed with his brothers as they watched Hammer and Koz take off their cuts and removed their guns, handing them to Stone without ever breaking their stare-off.

"You won't be smiling for long. I'm so gonna beat your ass." Koz said with that same cocky smile, "Again."

"Like hell. I can take you and anyone else." Hammer retorted.

That's when Cooler came up and tugged off his cut. "Yeah, I don't think so big guy!" When his shirt came off as well, Cooler grinned and flexed to show off his arms. He still had the white medical tape wrapped around his chest, yet that didn't stop him from placing his hands behind his head to make his abs dance for all to see.

"Oh for the love of…" Clay shouted, "This ain't a strip show, junior!"

"Oh, let the boys have their fun," Gemma said with a smile. Happy saw her and some of the other old ladies staring openly at Cooler's abs. However, Gemma seemed to enjoy the young Nomad's show the most, not bothering to hide the appreciative grin on her face.

Clay turned around to point at Gemma, "Don't start with me…" Then he took another drag of his cigar. By now, a few more Sons had taken off their cuts to join the challenge. Tig, standing in a white T-shirt, was staring down Koz. Juice and Bull joined Cooler by taking their off their cuts and T-shirts, and added in their own flexing shows. All three were eating up the attention that the women were giving them.

Clay released a loud sigh, "Ok, fine, you boys want to do this. Let's make it interesting." Clay suggested as he looked at Stone. "Winner gets a bottle of 18-year old Jameson."

Not wanting to be out-done by the other Sons, Hammer, Koz, and Tig all shed their shirts as well. As they were stretching and establishing the rules, Koz looked over at Happy as if to ask: '_What the hell you doing just standing there_?' Happy went ahead and tugged off his own cut and shirt. After being cooped up for over a week, this was just what he needed.

_**SOA**_

After saying their goodbyes, Elli leaned in to give Addison a tight hug. Although they had not known each other for that long, Addison had begun to feel close to the older woman. She never had a woman in her life with whom she could talk to, and something about Elli's inviting nature made it easy to bond with her. As they pulled apart from their hug, Addison heard Stone say something to Hammer. Both women turned around to see a group of Sons discussing something. Soon, Hammer and Kozik were taking off their cuts. Cooler followed and took off his T-shirt as well.

"What's going on?" Addison asked as she heard Clay shouting something about a strip show.

"Looks like the guys are having a pissing contest." There was an amused tone to Elli's statement and Addison turned around to see the older woman smirking.

"Yep, blame the big oaf." Bear said as he came over and gave Elli a one armed hug.

"Aww, what you got against Hammer?" Elli asked as she returned the hug and gave Bear a kiss on the cheek. "What's the game?"

Bear pulled back and answered, "First one to a hundred push-ups. Winner gets an 18 year old bottle of Jameson."

As Elli and Bear chatted, Addison watched the rest of the contestants take off their shirts too. From what she could tell, none of them had anything to be ashamed of. They were all attractive men, and now she could tell they all the bodies to match. Hammer, Juice, and Bull were all very broad and muscular. Hammer by far was the tallest and biggest. Cooler, Kozik, and Tig were thinner, but still very well defined. Addison smiled as she watched Cooler. Even though his chest was still taped up, he seemed to be pretty much recovered from his injury as he flexed to show off his body.

Then, her eyes settled on Happy. Before she could form an opinion, two words came rushing unbidden to the front of her mind – 'Hot Damn'. She vaguely remembered that he was shirtless the night before, but she wasn't exactly paying attention to much of anything when she woke up from the nightmare, or even the last few weeks, for that matter. Looking past his intricate tattoos for the moment, Addison couldn't help but admire his form. He was thin, but very, very well toned. Her eyes followed his richly tanned skin from his strong shoulders, down his defined chest and chiseled abs, to his narrow hips. Even through the tattoos, she should see the sinewy and taut muscles that defined his upper body.

All of a sudden Addison felt uncomfortably warm. What the hell was wrong with her? She shouldn't be feeling like this right now! This was not the time to drool over men like some horny teenager. Unfortunately, her body completely disagreed with her as a tingly feeling spread through her body and her face started to flush. Part of her felt guilty, because of her feelings for Kip and what almost happened between them the night before. She felt as if she were betraying him for reacting like this to another man. Actually, it was probably because of last night's events that her body was doing this. It was simply hormones, she told herself. She needed to calm down before she did something stupid.

"Enjoying the show?" Elli interrupted her thoughts. Addison turned around to see the older woman grinning at her. She noticed Bear was no longer with them anymore. He was now standing next to Bobby, who was apparently taking bets on the contest.

"What, oh no…um…" If anything, Addison felt even warmer. She was sure she was as red as a tomato now. Why couldn't she pull herself together, damn it!

Elli saved her from further embarrassment, "Don't worry about it. It's only natural to look." Elli sighed wistfully, "And those are some nice specimens to look at."

Still red from embarrassment, Addison turned back around to watch as the contest was about to begin. She noticed that almost all of the Sons had tattoos on their bodies. Of course, the most intricate tattoos belonged to Happy. Addison knew he had full sleeve tattoos and a few on his head, but she had no idea of the multitude of ink all along his torso. She knew she was staring again, but she couldn't help herself. As he turned around, she got a clear view of his front and that's when she saw them.

On the lower right hand side of his abdomen, were a cluster of little happy faces. She was instantly reminded of the happy face mug from yesterday morning. Was this the reason he was called 'Happy'? But the little happy faces were such a disparity from the rest of the ink on his body and more importantly, from his personality. She knew she hadn't known him that long, but nothing about the way he acted would ever lead her to nickname him 'Happy'.

It seemed the contest had started and Addison saw seven contestants total – Hammer, Cooler, Koz, Tig, Juice, Bull and Happy. As Addison continued to ponder the origin of Happy's name, she realized that Elli might know. She remembered someone mentioning Happy used to be with the Tacoma charter before going Nomad. Seeing that they were away from the others and could speak freely, Addison turned around to get the others woman's attention, "Elli?"

"Hmm…?" Was her reply.

"How long have you known Happy?" Addison asked.

Elli turned around to look at her. She seemed a little surprised at the question but answered anyways, "Hap? Oh, probably fifteen years or so?"

Fifteen years? Maybe Elli was there when Happy was a prospect? For some reason, the image of the hard Son cleaning a bathroom and serving the members drinks made her smile. So, she decided to ask Elli more. "Oh, were you at the club when he was a prospect?"

"No, actually he had just patched in the first time I visited the club." A rueful graced her lips, "That was a day I'll always remember. Bear and I had been seeing each other for a while and he invited me to the club for the first time. When I walked inside the clubhouse, the first person to greet me was Happy. And I tell you, he was a total punk!"

That was something Addison did not expect. She hadn't known him all that long, but she had definitely never heard the term 'punk' used to describe Happy. She simply couldn't picture it, and for some reason she wanted to know more. "Really?"

"Well, he was much younger back then. He was in his early twenties, with a head full of thick dark hair, wearing a backward baseball cap. He also wore these baggy jeans that hung so low on his hips, his boxers were showing!" Elli grinned as she continued, "When he saw me walk in that first time, he came over and pushed up on me."

Addison was shocked as she looked at Elli with wide eyes. "What happened?"

Elli gave a light laugh, "Oh, Bear came over and pulled him off me. He was the VP back then. I found out later that Happy was totally smashed. Probably didn't even know what he was doing."

Both women turned back to watch the contest in time to see Hammer collapse. Addison actually felt a little bad. She'd grown a tad bit attached to the large Son. Poor guy, he's not going to like losing again. After he got up, Hammer crouched in front of Kozik. She was too far away to hear what he was saying, but from the way Hammer was waving his hands and making silly faces, it was obvious he was trying to distract Koz.

Without turning around Addison asked, "Did Happy ever apologize?"

Still watching the guys, Elli responded, "Oh, he apologized to Bear the next morning. Said he was fucked up and had no idea I was 'his woman'." Then Elli grinned, "Bear made him clean the bathrooms for two months."

So Happy did clean bathrooms! Just the idea of it made Addison laugh. She watched as Hammer stepped on Kozik's back causing him to collapse. Kozik got up and gave him a dirty look, to which Hammer just smiled. Then Kozik whooped and pumped his arm when he saw Tig go down. With three Sons down, a part of Addison was glad to see that Happy was still in the game.

A thought occurred to Addison and she turned to Elli with a stunned look. "Wait, he didn't apologize to you directly?"

Elli looked over and tilted her head, "Not really how the club works, Addison." Then she continued, "I starting spending more time at the club, and Hap was still a punk, all strut and swagger. And boy, did he love to talk, mostly about himself. You usually couldn't get him to shut up."

Addison couldn't believe it. This did not sound anything like the guarded Son she had met a few weeks ago. She only had a handful of conversations with Happy, but in each of them, he barely spoke more than a few sentences. His silence was actually one of the things about him that she was most comfortable with. But something about the Happy that Elli was describing made this Happy, the one focused on winning a push-up contest, more…approachable.

"Huh," Addison mused with a tone of awe in her voice, "that's hard to picture."

"Like I said, he was much younger back then. Over the years he matured, like anyone would as he gets older. Hap's what…thirty eight now?" Then Elli turned back around to watch the remaining four Sons as the others cheered them on. "We laugh about the whole thing and even he can't believe what a jackass he was back then. These days, you can barely get him to speak more than a few words, and he's very well respected among his brothers."

Addison also turned back around to watch the contest. She looked around and saw Jax with one arm slung around Tara as she was holding Abel, both of them laughing as they watched the contest. Lyla had her arms wrapped around Opie as they also watched on. She looked around to see the other Sons, including Kip, all laughing and cheering the contestants on. The joyful scene in front of her reminded her eerily of the picnic in her dream last night, before it had turned into a horrible nightmare. She wondered if this was what a normal day at the clubhouse would have been like, if the threat of the brothers were not hanging over their heads.

She focused back on the contest when she saw Cooler fall and hit the cement with his hand, disappointed that he lost. As he got up, Addison saw Hammer look at him with a smug smile. Juice, Bull, and Happy were still going strong. When she realized she was mesmerized by Happy's muscles flexing as his arms pumped up and down, she mentally slapped herself. She really needed to get herself under control. Then, Addison realized she had yet to ask Elli the reason for Happy's nickname.

She tilted her head a little and focused on Happy again, as she asked, "Um, do you know how he got his nickname, Happy? Is it because of those happy face tattoos on his front?"

Elli remained quiet and didn't turn around as both women watched Juice go down. The intelligence officer just got up and shrugged and joined the others who were now all cheering on Happy. They were in final stretch and it was between Happy and Bull. Elli still had not said anything.

Finally, Elli spoke softly, "I probably shouldn't be telling you, but yes, it is because of those tattoos." Before Addison could ask more, Elli held up her hand, "But as to why, you'll have to ask him yourself one day. Sorry, it's not really my place."

Addison decided she probably should have expected that answer. The way the little happy faces were clustered on Happy's body looked like they were significant in some way. And they were so out of place from all the other ink that seemed to weave and flow into one another. Addison figured the happy faces had to mean something.

The cheering got louder and broke Addison from her thoughts as everyone started to count the final push ups. About half the people were counting for Happy and half were counting for Bull, who was ahead by one pushup. As the final "…98, 99, 100!" were shouted, and Bull jumped up, raising both hands over his hands in victory. Happy also got up and shook Bull's hand. Even though he lost, he seemed good natured about it. Then Addison noticed Happy's slight limp and he walked over to retrieve his things from Chibs. She wondered if Happy would have won had he not been injured in Alaska.

"Come on, let's go congratulate Bull." Elli suggested as she put a hand on Addison's shoulder. As Addison followed Elli, her eyes found their way over to Happy. As the sun glistened off his sweaty body, highlighting every inch of his defined chest, she tried to convince herself that she was intrigued by the Nomad only because he was an enigma and for no other reason.

_**SOA**__  
_

Despite the pain in his leg, Happy couldn't deny feeling exhilarated after the contest. He had always been a physical guy and this really was exactly what he needed. After congratulating Bull on his win, Happy walked over to Chibs to retrieve his belongings. His Scottish brother had decided to sit out the competition.

"Thanks man," Happy tucked his Glock back in his jeans and put his sunglasses on. Then he draped his shirt and cut over his shoulder. He wasn't ready to put them back on just yet.

"Aye brother. You know you cost me a hundred big ones." Chibs said as he looked at Happy over his own sunglasses.

Happy's response was a smirk. "Make it up to you next time," He called over his shoulder as he walked away, passing Juice, who had just answered his cell phone. Happy made his way over to his Harley parked by the shop office. His leg needed the walk to stretch out and relax. As he leaned against his bike, he looked back to where Elli and Addison were congratulating Bull. He couldn't hold back his snort as he watched Bull try to hug Addison with his sweaty chest and arms. His eyes shifted over to see Twitch collect his winnings from Bobby and put it away quickly, looking over his shoulders as if to check for someone watching him. Apparently the paranoid Nomad was the big winner today. Looking around Happy watched as his brothers all laughed and joked with each other. Even with the known danger lurking out there, they had really needed this, the club had needed this.

Although it was still winter, the sun was shining and the temperature a little warmer than normal today. And after working up a mild sweat, it was nice feeling the chilly breeze as it cooled down his warm skin. Happy reached into his jeans pocket for a cigarette, only to find the pack empty. He made a mental note to make a quick run and grab some more after Tacoma left. Still looking at his gathered brothers, he watched Addison leave the crowd and return a few minutes later with a bucket. She walked back and starting with Bull, handed each competitor a bottle of water.

From the corner of his eye, Happy saw Juice snap his phone shut and run up to Clay. He was standing to Clay's side whispering something to him in rapid bursts. Therefore, it was easy to see whatever the intelligence officer was telling Clay, it was important. Clay's face turned from amused to irate within a matter of seconds. They had been waiting for more information on the brothers. Even if it wasn't good news, Happy hoped it would at least be helpful news.

He pulled his eyes away from them to see Addison approaching him. As she got closer, she pulled out the last bottle of water. "Here," she offered as she reached him.

Taking it, Happy twisted off the cap and took a large gulp. He then focused back on Juice and Clay as he said, "Thanks."

"Sorry, that you lost. You might have won if it weren't for your injury." Addison said as she pointed to his leg.

Happy turned back to look at her. He lost count how many times she had apologized for his leg. He appreciated it, but she really needed to understand that this was the life. "Don't apologize. This ain't the first time I've been stabbed." He took another gulp of water and added, "And this won't be the last time we have a contest like this." He finished with a knowing smirk.

Addison looked at him with slightly widened eyes and asked, "So this is pretty normal?" At his nod in confirmation, she smiled, "Well, you looked good out there today. I'm sure you'll win next time." As she said it, she looked down as a light blush graced her cheeks.

His response was only another grin. He couldn't help but widen his grin when he noticed her looking at his abdomen. As if she knew she had been caught, she looked up quickly, the flush on her cheeks darkening a bit more. Was the girl embarrassed? Well, if she was going to be part of this club, she needed to get over that shyness quickly.

Before he could say anything, a bright glint of sunlight reflecting off a passing car caught his eye from the edge of sunglasses. After the incident with the gate, Happy's senses had been on alert. He wouldn't put it past the brothers to try something again, and he would not let anything like that happen. Watching a banged up older model SUV pass by the gate, Happy took a breath and told himself to relax. It was just a passing car.

"I'll see you later okay?" Addison said as she turned to walk back towards the others.

Nodding, Happy turning shaded eyes back to Clay and Juice, as she started to walk away. He saw the older member clutch at his chest suddenly. That seemed odd. Happy's senses went on alert again. He saw Gemma turn around with a concerned look on her face. He couldn't hear what she was asking him, but she was obviously worried. Clay removed his hand from his chest to look at it. That's when Happy saw it – blood.

"CLAY!" Gemma's scream could probably have been heard by all of Charming.

At that moment everything started to happen at once, but in slow motion. Out of instinct, Happy caught up to Addison in a few quick strides and grabbed her as she dropped the empty bucket. He only knew he needed to stop her from running towards Clay. Before his brain could catch up, he watched as Clay started to fall and Juice tried to catch him. Then, he finally realized what had happened.

Clay Morrow, National President of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, had just been shot.

_**Authors Notes:**_ Sorry to leave you with another cliff hanger, but we are sure that you all understand! As always we would love to know what your thoughts are, and thank you again for reading.


	22. Chapter 22 - Part 1

**Authors Notes:** We would like to apologize that it took so long to get this chapter out. Both of us have had real life crash down around us, and there were things that we needed to take care of. This is chapter is part one of two, we are hoping to get the next chapter out next week sometime.

We hope that you all enjoy this new chapter, and have a Happy Holiday Season.

**Last time on Born to Die, Chapter 21**

Happy turned back to look at her. He lost count how many times she had apologized for his leg. He appreciated it, but she really needed to understand that this was the life. "Don't apologize. This ain't the first time I've been stabbed," he took another gulp of water and added, "And this won't be the last time we have a contest like this." he finished with a knowing smirk.

Addison looked at him with slightly widened eyes and asked, "So this is pretty normal?" at his nod in confirmation, she smiled, "Well, you looked good out there today. I'm sure you'll win next time." as she said it, she looked down as a light blush graced her cheeks.

His response was only another grin. He couldn't help but widen his grin when he noticed her looking at his abdomen. As if she knew she had been caught, she looked up quickly, the flush on her cheeks darkening a bit more. Was the girl embarrassed? Well, if she was going to be part of this club, she needed to get over that shyness quickly.

Before he could say anything, a bright glint of sunlight reflecting off a passing car caught his eye from the edge of sunglasses. After the incident with the gate, Happy's senses had been on alert. He wouldn't put it past the brothers to try something again, and he would not let anything like that happen. Watching a banged up older model SUV pass by the gate, Happy took a breath and told himself to relax. It was just a passing car.

"I'll see you later okay?" Addison said as she turned to walk back towards the others.

Nodding, Happy turned shaded eyes back to Clay and Juice as she started to walk away. He saw the older member clutch at his chest suddenly. That seemed odd. Happy's senses went on alert again. He saw Gemma turn around with a concerned look on her face. He couldn't hear what she was asking him, but she was obviously worried. Clay removed his hand from his chest to look at it. That's when Happy saw it – blood.

"CLAY!" Gemma's scream could probably have been heard by all of Charming.

At that moment everything started to happen at once, but in slow motion. Out of instinct, Happy caught up to Addison in a few quick strides and grabbed her as she dropped the empty bucket. He only knew he needed to stop her from running towards Clay. Before his brain could catch up, he watched as Clay started to fall and Juice tried to catch him. Then, he finally realized what had happened.

Clay Morrow, National President of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, had just been shot.

_**Born to Die**_

_**Chapter 22 – Part ONE**_

_**Written by: DanniMitchell85 and Kaylalong**_

Addison had learned many things in her relatively short lifetime. By the age of two, she learned how to talk, her first word being '_dada_'. She still remembered the beaming look on her dad's face whenever he relieved that memory. He had been so proud of her, it was almost embarrassing. By the age of five, she learned how to read, impressing her father when she read the headlines off the front page of the morning paper. When she was only ten, she learned not only to shoot a gun, but to also stitch up a wound, two things she would use again and again in her life. By age sixteen, she learned not only how to drive a car, but to ride a Harley as well. Her dad always told her, again with a beaming smile, that she rode better than most men.

And then, at the tender age of twenty, she learned how it felt to watch her father die. Then, while still in shock from her father's death, she learned the truth about how she really lost her mother. Over the last few weeks, the shock, pain, and anger all started to subside as she learned that there were other people whom she never even knew, who cared about her and would do anything to keep her safe.

Now, in the last two hours, she learned the name of the small hospital in Charming was St. Thomas. She learned the bell to the elevator at the end of the hall would ding three seconds before the doors opened. She learned Gemma's heels would click twelve times in one direction and then another twelve times in the reverse direction as she paced in the hallway outside the hospital waiting room.

Inside the waiting room, Addison learned the floor was covered by one hundred and fifty white linoleum tiles. She also learned the linoleum tiles were not truly white. Each tile contained eight black specks and five grey specks. She learned that hospital coffee truly tasted disgusting, and she learned that the smell of disinfectant caused not only a cloying feeling in her throat, but a tingling feeling on the tip of her tongue.

However, the most surprising thing she learned was that it seemed the stoic Nomad sitting in the chair next to her was okay with her leaning her head on his shoulder.

Since they took over the waiting room, the chair next to Addison was repeatedly occupied and vacated by Elli and Hammer. Each whispered soothing words in hopes of comforting her. However, she was too numb to respond. In fact, Addison had not spoken more than a few words since they arrived at the hospital.

The Hospital.

She could not believe that it was less than two hours ago, in a matter of mere seconds, her still shaky new life completely crumbled as she watched Clay, her last living relative, fall to the ground as blood seeped from his chest.

When Happy sat down about five minutes ago, Addison had been absent-mindedly toying with her locket and counting the number of black and gray specks on the linoleum tile under her scuffed up motorcycle boots for the third time. From the thumping of heavy boots, she could tell it was a man and assumed it was Hammer, again. She was so tired that she simply leaned over and rested her head on her neighbor's shoulder. It wasn't until she looked down that she realized the arm she was looking at was not Hammer's massive dark tanned one. Instead what she saw was the heavily tattooed arm of Happy.

However, by now Addison was so numb she couldn't find the energy to remove herself from the silent Nomad's shoulder. Even though she had only known him a few weeks, from the beginning something about Happy always made her feel calm, grounded. Since he had not said anything, nor did he pull away from her, she assumed it would be okay to just stay where she was.

Because right now, leaning on Happy's shoulder seemed to be the only thing keeping Addison from completely breaking down. The very real possibility that she just lost her uncle, weeks after losing her father, absolutely terrified her beyond anything words could describe. As she recalled the fuzzy memory, she could only remember that one minute she was walking away from Happy, and then the next minute she watched Clay clutch his chest and start to fall. She could still hear Gemma's screaming as she recalled the image of the parking lot asphalt, stained with Clay's blood.

Everything after that was a blur of activity. Before she could process anything, Addison felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her. For a split second, she panicked, remembering the man who pulled her into her house back in Alaska. However, as she saw the tattoos on the pair of arms and caught the overwhelming sent of sweat and leather, her panic subsided. With Happy trying to protect her, she vaguely remembered the scene of Juice trying to hold up Clay, Jax trying to hold back his mother, and Hammer coming over to carry Clay back to the clubhouse.

Addison didn't even remember how they made it across the lot, but somehow by following Happy's instructions, they reached the safety of the clubhouse. Inside however, was complete mayhem. Sons were running around shouting at each other – asking '_what happened?_', '_how the fuck did this happen?_, '_did anyone see anything?_' and other things she could not make out. She remembered Bobby on the phone, calling an ambulance. Gemma was clutching onto Clay, yelling at him to open his eyes, while Tara was barking orders as she tried her best to stop the bleeding in Clay's chest.

The next thing Addison knew, she was being pushed into an ambulance with Gemma and Tara, on their way to the hospital. She felt removed from her body as she watched the paramedics work on Clay. She felt as if she were wrapped in a numbing blanket of fear and panic. She didn't hear the questions the paramedics asked, or Tara and Gemma's answers. She only heard sirens, and the distant rumble of Harleys.

Once they arrived at the hospital, Addison watched as Tara and other doctors rushed Clay away on his gurney. A nurse ushered Gemma and her to a waiting and as Addison sat down with Gemma, she saw the other Sons start to fill into the hospital. She looked back at Gemma to see her shaking from head to toe. Tig came over and spoke to Gemma in a soft calming voice. Addison overhead him say that Stone and the other Nomads stayed behind with Piney, Juice and Kip to regroup. She watched as Gemma nodded and started to calm down as Tig reassured her that Clay would be fine.

So here she was, for the past two hours, waiting to hear Clay's fate. Addison wasn't really a religious person. Growing up the way she did, with what her father did, and where she lived didn't exactly lend to weekly church attendance. But right now, all she could do was pray to whoever was listening that her uncle survives this. She hoped against hope that the powers that he did not make Tig a liar. For right now, hope was all she had.

_**SOA**_

Red. Or was it crimson? Was it ruby? Why the hell were there so many ways to describe the color of blood? These were the thoughts racing through Juice's mind as he sat at a table staring at the still sticky wet blood covering his hands. This was not the first time Juice had seen blood, or even had blood on his hands, but this was different – _very_ different. This was not the blood of an enemy, a rival, or even a stranger. This was the blood of family, but not just any family, for Juice's hands were covered with the blood of Clay Morrow, National President of the Sons of Anarchy.

Juice could still remember the feeling of dread when he saw Clay clutch his chest. Realizing something was terribly wrong, Juice grabbed Clay to help steady him. He had no idea what was happening. Almost in a flash, Hammer was at Clay's other side and started to carry Clay back to the clubhouse. As Juice started to follow, he looked down at his hands and that's when he saw it – blood. That image, that _feeling_, was one Juice would never forget.

Juice was pulled out of his memories when he felt a heavy hand land on his shoulder. "Hey man, why don't you go get cleaned up. We're gonna download in a few minutes." He turned around to see Stone, with a resigned look in his eyes.

Juice got up and replied, "yeah, it'll just take me few," and walked down the hallway to his dorm room. As he shut the door behind him, Juice leaned his head against the door. Taking a deep breath, Juice told himself to pull it together. This was not the time to fall apart. His brothers needed him. Clay needed him.

Making his way into the bathroom, he turned on the warm water and grabbed the bar of soap. As he watched the white soap turn pink when it touched the blood on his hands, Juice started to scrub his hands harder. Once the pink water had all gone down the drain and the soap was once again white, Juice turned the knob from warm to cold. After the steam of the drastic change in temperature subsided, Juice cupped his hands under the cold water and then leaned down to splash it over his face. Repeating the action a few more times, Juice finally turned off the water. With his face still wet, he stared into the mirror over the faucet. He just needed a moment to collect himself.

As his memories seized him again, Juice thought back to what happened earlier in the parking lot. He had received a call regarding a credit check he ordered and found that the brothers, the bastards who killed Quinn and were now after Addison, were actually closer than they had all thought. They had been renting a house just outside of Charming for the last few weeks. Juice had gone over to report this to Clay, but as he started to speak, he saw Clay grab his chest. He never heard a shot, didn't see anything. There were dozens of people in that parking lot, but _he_ was standing right next to Clay. How did he not see _anything_?

Realizing he was taking hard shallow breaths and still staring at his wet face in the mirror, Juice shook his head hard as he dried off his face. He returned to his bedroom as he shrugged off his cut and pulled his blood stained shirt over his head. Replacing it with a clean one, Juice put his leather cut back on and grabbed his laptop to head back to the main room.

Walking in the main room, Juice saw Piney behind the bar, filling up a line of shot glasses. The older Son's weary face looked up at Juice as he said, "Stone's rounding up the others." Then he tossed back one of the shots. Juice nodded and sat his laptop down on the bar counter. He grabbed the shot that Piney slid over to him and tossed it back. As the burning feeling continued its way down his throat, Juice braced himself to focus on the task and ignore everything else. There was nothing any of them could do for Clay right now. That was up to Clay, the doctors, and God. The only thing any of them could do now was to find these fuckers and make them pay. And in order for the Sons to do that, they needed Juice, needed his intel. It was time to step up.

Soon the Nomads were all gathered inside the main room of the clubhouse. A few members from the other charters remained outside to keep guard. Juice sat at the bar, with his back to the counter, listening to Stone give everyone an update from the hospital. From what he could absorb, Clay was in surgery, so as far as he knew, the president was still alive. Juice focused back on the conversation when he heard Cooler ask, "And how the fuck are we supposed to do anything when we don't even know where these fuckers are?"

Without turning his head to look at Cooler, Juice spoke up, "They're here, in Charming. The fuckers are right under our noses." All of sudden the room was deathly quiet. Juice looked around the room as he continued. "I was about to tell Clay when…" Juice trailed off as he looked down at his hands. The blood may be gone, but his could still feel the warmth, still smell it, still taste the metallic tang on the tip of tongue.

He took another deep breath and looked back up. "A buddy of mine called about a credit check I asked him to run. Found out they've been renting a house just outside of town for the past few weeks."

For a few seconds no one spoke, then, Juice saw Stone sit up and look at him, "You got an address?"

Juice looked around the room; every pair of eyes was looking straight at him. It was as if the air in the room had been sucked out. The intensity of their stares was suffocating. Juice grabbed his laptop and pulled up a map on his monitor. He turned it around to show everyone, "yeah."

"Good. Print it out and give it to Twitch. Tell him everything you know." Stone turned around to Twitch and instructed, "I want you and Ax to go check it out. Play it smart." Stone finished as he nodded at Twitch.

"What about the rest of us?" Bull asked. Juice looked over to see Bull sitting near Cooler. He didn't know much about the Nomad, but from the way he was shaking his leg and flexing his shoulders, Juice knew that he didn't want to wait for an update. He wanted blood.

"The rest of us," Stone replied, "are going to load up and get ready. As much as I would love to just go in and kill the fuckers, we need to know what the hell is going on. We need to know why they're doing this and who else is involved. This isn't just about retaliation." Stone paused and looked at every Son in the room. When it looked like he had everyone's attention, he continued. "We go in, grab them and get out. They we take them to a safe spot and start getting some answers."

"There's some good spots up near the cabin." Piney spoke up from behind bar as he poured another round of shots. "You can take them up there and wait for the others. It outside of Charming, in the woods, secluded. No one around for miles. No one to hear the screams." Piney finished as he grabbed a shot and tossed it back.

"Everyone agree?" Stone asked as he looked around. He received some reluctant nods, but everyone agreed. Juice looked over to the closed church doors. No one wanted to see the head chair of that redwood table empty. There was no time to waste.

_**Authors Notes:**_ Once again, we hope that you enjoyed this new chapter, and would love to know what you thought, so please feel free to review.


	23. Chapter 22 - Part 2

_**Author's Notes: **_First off, I would like to thank everyone who has read, reviewed, added this story to their favorites, and/or followed this story.

Second, I would like to apologize to everyone for not updating sooner. I know it has been more than a year, and that is a long time in between updates. A lot has happened, and I hope that I will be able to continue with this story, we are about half way. I am also looking for another Beta/Co-writer. Due to life Kaylalong is unable to continue working with me, and it pains me to say good bye to her. She has been a wonderful co-author, partner and friend. I wish the best of luck to her. This was the last chapter that she was able to help me with.

_**Another very important note...**_ I have 'recast' the 'role' of Addison. As many of you have made it known that you don't like the idea of 'Avril Lavigne' portraying Addison. I have found a much better actress who fits my idea of her. You can see pictures on my profile page of the new Addison. The actress name is Emily Bett Rickards.

I hope you enjoy this chapter!

_**Last Time...**_

Juice looked around the room; every pair of eyes was looking straight at him. It was as if the air in the room had been sucked out. The intensity of their stares was suffocating. Juice grabbed his laptop and pulled up a map on his monitor. He turned it around to show everyone, "yeah."

"Good. Print it out and give it to Twitch. Tell him everything you know." Stone turned around to Twitch and instructed, "I want you and Ax to go check it out. Play it smart." Stone finished as he nodded at Twitch.

"What about the rest of us?" Bull asked. Juice looked over to see Bull sitting near Cooler. He didn't know much about the Nomad, but from the way he was shaking his leg and flexing his shoulders, Juice knew that he didn't want to wait for an update. He wanted blood.

"The rest of us," Stone replied, "are going to load up and get ready. As much as I would love to just go in and kill the fuckers, we need to know what the hell is going on. We need to know why they're doing this and who else is involved. This isn't just about retaliation." Stone paused and looked at every Son in the room. When it looked like he had everyone's attention, he continued. "We go in, grab them and get out. Then we take them to a safe spot and start getting some answers."

"There's some good spots up near the cabin." Piney spoke up from behind bar as he poured another round of shots. "You can take them up there and wait for the others. It outside of Charming, in the woods, secluded. No one around for miles. No one to hear the screams." Piney finished as he grabbed a shot and tossed it back.

"Everyone agree?" Stone asked as he looked around. He received some reluctant nods, but everyone agreed. Juice looked over to the closed church doors. No one wanted to see the head chair of that redwood table empty.

There was no time to waste.

_**Born to Die**_

_**Chapter 22 - PART TWO**_

_**Witten by: DanniMitchell85 and Kaylalong **_

"When it rains, it pours," Kozik said is a low voice as he lit up his cigarette.

"This is a fucking flood man," Happy answered as he took the offered box of smokes from his brother. Pulling out his own sliver lighter, skull etched into the front, he placed the thin paper wrapped tobacco between his lips and lit it up. He took a deep inhale as he closed his eyes. He had been used to things getting heavy within the club, and there had been many times in the past when they had gotten hit from all sides, but nothing like what was going on now. Never before had there been an attack on the Sons as what they were experiencing at the present time.

Opening his eyes and looking around the parking lot through his sunglasses, Happy exhaled. He had been craving a good smoke for the last five hours, and it felt good to have the nicotine burning in him again. Kozik had told him that he was going to step out for some fresh air and Hap had offered to join him. It wasn't a safe time for Sons to be going off alone, and the thought of some fresh air was appealing to him. There was nothing he could do in a sitting room, and the not knowing began to eat away at him. He was a man who liked control, and right now there was very little he had control over.

He had gotten up slowly from the hard plastic chair, so that he wouldn't knock Addison's head off his shoulder. He had been shocked at first when she had rested her head softly on him, but he hadn't known what to say to her. She had been through so much, and had just watched her uncle get shot, he wasn't about to tell her to move. He was surprised she hadn't broken down into a hysterical fit like Gemma had shortly after they all realized that Clay had been shot.

Instead, he had watched as Addison just sat there and waited. Ellie had been sitting close to her at the beginning, trying to tell her that it was all going to be alright and that Clay was a fighter, but she never looked up and didn't say a word. Instead, she clutched onto her necklace and kept her eyes down.

Hammer tested his hand at trying to get her to understand that even thou Clay had been shot, he was still alive. He had listened when his large Nomad brother started to tell jokes trying his hardest to comfort the young woman. His talking had eased others in the room, but hadn't seem to work on the young woman. Happy knew that it was Hammer's nature to protect, and it was his way of trying to deal with the advents that had accrued.

When Happy had sat down, he wasn't really planning on sitting next to her, it just happened to be one of the only chairs in the room that wasn't occupied. He had been walking the halls of the hospital with Tig making sure that everything looked good, getting stairs from the hospital staff. He had just needed to sit down and take a break, get off his feet while he knew he could.

When she had leaned over, he didn't know if she was going to start crying or fall asleep. But she did neither. It was an odd feeling having someone laying on him like she was. He wasn't used to women close to him unless it was for sex, and even after that he wasn't one for cuddling. The closeness that brought on cuddling, and other forms of snuggling, where the breeding grounds for an emotional connection, something that Happy had been able to avoid.

However he had allowed her to rest her head without pulling away from her. Somewhere deep inside, he admitted that it didn't fell as uncomfortable as he thought it would.

His thoughts where pulled away from Addison, and how her hair smelt while it was across his shoulder, to the ringing of his phone. Digging into his pocket, he pulled it out and looked to see that Stone was calling him. Taking the cigarette out of his mouth, he flipped open the prepaid and held it up to his ears.

"Yeah," he answered it. He took in everything that Stone was telling him over the line, and then hung up once the call was over.

"Who was that?" Kozik asked as he stood beside him.

"Stone," Happy told him while he brought up his smoke and took another long drag from it. "Said they got a lead on the bastards, he is on his way over to fill us in."

"Let's wait for him to get here then we can head back up," Kozik said as he pulled out another cigarette and lit it. He handed out his pack again, and let Happy take another one for himself.

They didn't have to wait long, and before he knew it, Happy was standing outside the waiting room once again. He kept his eyes and ears open while he was looking down the halls, while Stone was trying to round up all the senior members.

"Where's Addison?" Stone asked. Happy looked in at his words and saw that Addison wasn't sitting in the chair he had left her in. A moment of panic washed over him until her heard Ellie tell them that she had gone to the bathroom. She reassured them that she was safe, Hammer had followed her.

Once Jax, Tig, Bear and he were together, they stepped aside and into a stairwell. They would be able to talk about what they needed to without too many ears around.

Before Stone started in with what he had learned, he asked if there had been any news on Clay. "They tell you guys anything yet?" he asked as he looked to Jax.

Happy watched as the young man just shook his head. "Na man, nothing. Tara said she would come find us as soon as she knew anything." Jax offered up as he rubbed his face with his hand. Happy knew that he was trying to keep everything inside and was doing a pretty damn good job of keeping it together.

"So what did you find out?" Tig spoke up, pulling the attention away from the VP. Happy dug his hands into his pockets as he waited for Stone to tell them what he had learned.

Happy watched as Stone rolled his shoulders before he began to talk. "Juice found out where the brothers have been staying. That was what he was talking with Clay about before he was shot."

"Well where the fuck are they, let's go kill the fuckers," Tig said as he got all amped up at the thought of causing some pain to those who had brought down his friend.

Stone held up his hand to try and calm the Charming SAA down. "Their long gone already," Stone said with a calm voice. "I had Twitch and Ax head over there to put eyes on the place, the rest of us where getting ready to go in a grab them when I got a call from Twitch that the house was clear. They did leave something behind though," Stone told them as he reached into his inner cut pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. After a moment of looking at it, he handed it out to Jax.

Happy wanted to know what was written on the paper, and he knew that it wasn't something good by the way that Jax face scrunched up as his eyes glided over what it said. Anger was clearly written on his face.

"This a joke?" Jax said as he handed the paper over to Tig who was beside him.

"I'm afraid not," Stone replied. Once Tig was done looking the paper over, he handed it to him. Happy glanced down and took in what was typed out onto the white printing paper.

'_Two down. How many of you are willing to die for the girl?'_

Reading the words that he held in his hands forced a rare rage to boil inside of him. He knew that the Sons never left family behind, and there was a very good chance that more blood would be spilt before this was all over and done with.

Not wanting to look at the paper anymore, he handed it over to Bear to read it for himself.

"So what do we do now?" Bear said as he looked up and away from the note that was left for them to find.

Stone strained up and placed his hands over his hips and he looked around the small space to his brothers. "Not much we can do right now," he admitted. "The house was the closest we have been able to get to them, but it wasn't good enough."

Jax let out a frustrated laugh. "So what, we just wait around for them to try and shoot one of us again?!" he spoke up loudly. "We just wait for them to come and get Addison, and do God know what to her?" he asked.

"Do we even know why they are after her?" Bear asked. Everyone looked to him. "All I'm saying, is that they are going through a lot of trouble to get her. Why?"

"Ain't that the fucking million dollar question?" Tig said sarcastically.

In a fit of rage and frustration, Jax turned around and slammed his fist into the stairwell door, forcing it to swing open. Not bothered that he may be over heard, he turned back around to the others. "They are not going to lay a singer hand on her. They'll have to kill me and walk over my cold dead body before I let anything happen to her," he said and then took a deep breath, calming himself down. The sound of the door closing shut again filled the silence. "Sons protect family," he stated as he looked into the eyes of the men before him. "We don't back down from a treat, and we don't let some outside sick fuckers hurt our family. They already took out Quinn and Clay to get to Addison, for whatever reason. I'm not going to sit back and wait for them to go after someone else."

_**SOA**_

The sound of running water was all the filled the women's bathroom as Addison rinsed off her hands, washing the soap suds off her skin and down the drain. She had excused herself to the bathroom in hopes of getting away from the stairs and worried eyes that had been drilling into her for the last few hours. However she didn't account for the shadow that followed her. The very large, dark skinned shadow.

She knew that Hammer meant well, but she didn't understand his need to be _inside_ the bathroom with her. She was just glad he had been content enough to wait outside the stall while she went in to relive herself. She couldn't help but blush at the thought of him listening to her while she tinkled, and she had to laugh despite what was going on when she heard him start to hum.

Turing off the water, she walked over to the paper towel dispenser. Hammer stood up from the wall where he had been resting, and pulled the lever down to release the brown stiff paper towels for her.

"Thank you," she said as she ripped them off and dried her hands. Once she was done, she threw them into the waste can, and headed for the door. She tried to ignore all the nurses and other staff that watched on as they both came out of the room, she knew that more than likely they thought that they had been up to _'something'_. Why else would a man follow a woman into a bathroom?

Addison couldn't bother to worry herself about what others were thinking about her, or why there was a hard core biker following her every move. As much as she wanted to get away from the looks of the others in the waiting room, she wanted to get away from the stairs of the hospital staff more.

Trying to keep her head held high, she made her way back to the waiting room, passing the door that led to the stairs. She couldn't help but jump a little as the door slammed open, as she heard the angry sound of Jax's voice. Looking back over her shoulder to Hammer, she walked closer to the door trying to hear what was being said.

"_They are not going to lay a singer hand on her. They'll have to kill me and walk over my cold dead body before I let anything happen to her," _she heard Jax proclaim. _"Sons protect family,"_ she heard him go on. She looked over to Hammer as she saw his eyes frown as he listened in also. _"We don't back down to a treat, and we don't let some outside sick fuckers hurt our family. They already took out Quinn and Clay to get to Addison, for whatever reason. I'm not going to sit back and wait for them to go after someone else."_

At hearing what Jax had just said, Addison had to back away from the door. She felt like a bucket of ice cold water had been dumped over her. The shock of hearing the words that where just spoken made it hard for her to breath. Clay had been shot, because of her. Her father had been killed, because of her. As much as she wanted to dwell on the pain of knowing that it was her fault behind the pain and suffering, there was only one thought that pushed itself to the front of her mind.

Before she could focus on it, the heavy door opened, and she looked up to see Jax walk out. He stopped as he saw her standing there, and didn't waste time in looking over to Hammer.

"Shit," he said out loud, knowing that they had overheard what had been said. It didn't take long before the others piled out of the stairwell behind him, to fill out the hallway. "How much did you hear?" Jax asked in a soft voice.

"Enough," Addison said keeping her answer short. She didn't trust her voice to say much more. "Is it true?" she couldn't help but ask.

Not knowing what to say to her Jax just kept quit. He didn't want to tell her anymore then what was needed, but it was clear that it was time to come clean with her. Before he was able to fill her in on what they had been keeping from her, a movement from further down the hall caught his eye. Looking over her shoulder, he saw Kozik headed their way, waving his hand to them.

"Hey, Tara came out with news about Clay," he said to them, then turned around and headed back.

Forgetting about what was said and overheard, they all took to making their way back to the waiting room. It didn't take long and before they knew it, they were waiting for Tara to deliver the news.

Addison watched as the young doctor looked around the room, and took a deep breath. "The bullet missed his heart, but not by much. There was some damage done and the surgeon was able to patch everything up. It's still touch and go, but if he makes it through the night, he should be able to make a full recovery," she said.

There was a collective weight that lifted off the room as everyone took in what she had just said.

Clay was alive.

**Authors Notes:** There you have it! Clay is still alive, but the question is going to be, is he going to keep breathing? This is going to end the first half of the story arc. It took this long to really lay the ground work for the relationship between Addison and the Sons. The real story of Happy and Addison is about to start!

Once again, I am sorry that this took so long to post. I hope you all enjoyed it. As always, it's always good to hear what you guys think.


	24. Chapter 23

_**Author's Note:**_ This chapter took me much longer to work on than I thought it would. As many of you know, I no longer have a full time Beta for this story, so it took me longer to iron out all the kinks. This chapter was looked over by AOE01, and I thank her for her help! Thank you so very much, for someone who never watched Sons of Anarchy you helped me where I needed it!

I am actively looking for a new full time Beta. If you are interested in becoming a part of this project, please send me a PM or say something in the review. I will get back to you and we can talk. Please be patient with me, while the search continues!

I would also like to thank everyone who has been reading and keeping up with this story. It means a lot to me to know you all are enjoying the story so much! As always, I love to hear from you and see what you guys think of what is happening, so please take the time to leave a review after reading, or send me a PM.

_**Last time…**_

"_They are not going to lay a single hand on her. They'll have to kill me and walk over my cold dead body before I let anything happen to her," _she heard Jax proclaim. _"Sons protect family,"_ she heard him go on. She looked over to Hammer as she saw his eyes frown as he listened in also. _"We don't back down to a threat__, and we don't let some outside sick fuckers hurt our family. They already took out Quinn and Clay to get to Addison, for whatever reason. I'm not going to sit back and wait for them to go after someone else." _

At hearing what Jax had just said, Addison had to back away from the door. She felt like a bucket of ice cold water had been dumped over her. The shock of hearing the words that were just spoken made it hard for her to breathe. Clay had been shot because of her. Her father had been killed because of her. As much as she wanted to dwell on the pain of knowing that it was her fault behind the pain and suffering, there was only one thought that pushed itself to the front of her mind.

Before she could focus on it, the heavy door opened, and she looked up to see Jax walk out. He stopped as he saw her standing there, and didn't waste time in looking over to Hammer.

"Shit," he said out loud, knowing that they had overheard what had been said. It didn't take long before the others piled out of the stairwell behind him, to fill out the hallway. "How much did you hear?" Jax asked in a soft voice.

"Enough," Addison said keeping her answer short. She didn't trust her voice to say much more. "Is it true?" she couldn't help but ask.

Not knowing what to say to her Jax just kept quiet. He didn't want to tell her anymore than what was needed, but it was clear it was time to come clean with her. Before he was able to fill her in on what they had been keeping from her, a movement from further down the hall caught his eye. Looking over her shoulder, he saw Kozik headed their way, waving his hand to them.

"Hey, Tara came out with news about Clay," he said to them, then turned around and headed back.

Forgetting about what was said and overheard, they all took to making their way back to the waiting room. It didn't take long and before they knew it, they were waiting for Tara to deliver the news.

Addison watched as the young doctor looked around the room, and took a deep breath. "The bullet missed his heart, but not by much. There was some damage done and the surgeon was able to patch everything up. It's still touch and go, but if he makes it through the night, he should be able to make a full recovery," she said.

There was a collective weight that lifted off the room as everyone took in what she had just said.

Clay was alive.

_**Born to Die**_

_**Chapter 23**_

_**Written by: DanniMitchell85**_

The suffocating pressure that had settled over Jax's chest lifted at the news. His step father was alive. If Clay could make it through the next twenty four hours, he should be fine. Jax wasn't delusional; he knew the road to recovery was going to be long and hard. Whatever damage the bullet caused would have to heal, and Clay was already showing the signs of wear and tear of old age and years on the hard road. Clay Marrow was a stubborn old man, and Jax knew he would fight tooth and nail to make a full comeback.

He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but when there had been a thought of Clay's death, Jax felt the weight of leadership fall onto his shoulders. He was the Vice President of the mother charter of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle club, should anything happen to put the President – Clay – out of order, he would take over. He wasn't sure if he was ready to take the chair at the head of the table, or the gavel, quite yet.

"I think this would be a good time to find some place to talk." Bear said as he stood behind Jax, placing a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "Things need to be decided," he added. "We can't put '_certain'_ topics of conversation on hold any longer."

The tone in Bears voice told Jax it was time to have church.

"I'm not leaving my mom and Addison," Jax said looking over to the two women who were sitting with Ellie. His mother looked like a wreck, and Jax could only assume she was thinking back to when his father, John had passed away in this very same hospital. He couldn't even imagine what she was going through at the moment. His family had suffered so much loss, and no matter how much he put on a strong front, the pain never left. He wasn't sure how his mother kept so strong, and he could only hope that she would share her secret with Addison. She was going to need it.

"I'm sure this place has somewhere we can talk without being '_overheard'_." Bear said, pulling Jax away from his inner thoughts.

"Yeah," Jax nodded as he turned around to face the other man. "We'll use the chapel, it's down the hall, should be big enough to hold everyone."

"All right , I'll let the boys know," Bear said as he backed away and began to spread the word.

Rubbing his hand over his face, Jax tried to pull all his thoughts together and put them in order. Clay was alive, and he hoped he would make a full recovery. The hard part was over and now it was a waiting game. There was nothing more he, or any of his brothers, could do at the moment. Being a man of action, he knew it was a waste of time -and effort- to spend time dwelling on the things he had no power over. There were other things, things he did have power to deal with that needed his attention. Like keeping his cousin safe, and hunting down the two men responsible for killing a Son's president, and putting another one in the hospital.

Looking over at Addison, Jax fought off the urge to go over and console her. She looked worse than Gemma. She was leaning back in the hard plastic chair, not seeming to pay any attention to what Ellie and Hammer were trying to tell her. He was about to turn away when she looked up and met his gaze.

His heart ached, he wanted to tell her everything was going to be okay, Clay was still alive, and they would find the two fuckers who killed her father. However his rational mind knew he couldn't make that promise, not yet. Her empty eyes bore into his, making his chest tighten painfully, it became difficult to breathe. Quickly he turned around and left the waiting room.

_**SOA**_

"Well this brings a whole new meaning to going to 'church'." Tig said as he found a seat on one of the wooden pews as he and the other Redwood members filed into the small chapel.

Looking around, Tig nodded to Jax who was standing at the front. The Sergeant could tell his VP had a lot on his mind, and he couldn't blame him. There wasn't a Son in town who didn't want to go hunting for the two brothers who took down their leader, brother, friend and family.

"All right, I think everyone who needs to be here is here," Bear said as he shut the door behind him. Tig could see Cooler standing on the other side of the door in the hallway , standing guard. The Nomads had been asked to 'stand guard' while they had their meeting.

"Order of business?" Tig asked, starting the meeting. He had a few guesses as to what would be on the schedule, but he would wait and see.

"New leadership," Bear said, unaffected by the slight rise of voices made at the subject topic. "Don't get me wrong, I hope and pray Clay makes it, but this isn't a time we can be caught with our pants around our ankles. We need a strong line of leadership more now than ever."

"Clay ain't dead!" Jax said firmly from where he stood at the front of the chapel.

"I agree," Stone added with a nod, his deep voice having a calming effect on the room. "This could be part of their plan; take out the head in hopes the body withers and dies."

"Who the fuck made you the boss?" Tig asked from his seat, playing devil's advocate. "Last I recall, only charter members could vote for new leadership. You ain't a member of Redwood, so you have no say."

"No, but as charter presidents, we do have the right to voice our concern." Bear said standing tall, not about to back down. "We only want what is right for the club, and right now we need to stop fighting and get this shit figured out. Or have you forgotten there are two killers out there with Addison in their sights?"

"Jax," Bobby said as he rubbed his facial hair. "You can always step down should Clay return to full health. I have to agree with Bear and Stone, we can't waste time fighting about something this trivial when there are much more important matters on the table."

Jax didn't like it; it felt like he was dishonoring Clay, taking the gavel from him while he was in the hospital fighting for his life.

"Clay would understand, lad," Chibs offered, his Scottish accent ringing in the room. "He would want ya to step up and deal with this threat."

Looking around the room, Jax noted everyone had a look of reserved agreement.

"All in favor for new Leadership," Tig said, starting off the vote with a raise of his hand. If the vote was majority rule, Jax would become the new President. He supported Clay and he was a close friend, but Tig realized the importance of showing a united front. He also understood the possibility that Clay might never be able to ride again after this attack. The rules in the club were simple, you can't vote if you can't ride. That also meant if you can't vote, you can't hold a place at the table.

"Ya," Juice said with a nod and a glance to Jax.

"Aye," Chibs added as he stood next to Jax, placing his hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah," Bobby said with a nod of his head.

It didn't take long for everyone to vote. "Votes are unanimous," Tig said, "Jax is the new President."

Bobby stood up and walked up to Jax, helping him out of his cut. "I'll get this re-patched for you," he said as he made his way back to his seat and took out a knife. It was quiet while everyone watched him remove the black and white 'Vice President' patch from the chest of Jax's cut. The act of cutting the white thread seemed harder than it should, and Bobby was aware of everyone watching him.

"As new President I have the right to name my new VP." Jax said, never taking his eyes away from the work Bobby was doing. "I want Chibs," he said pulling his eyes away to look over at his Scottish brother. "You've always been there for me, and I know I can trust you with my life."

"I'm honored, brother," Chibs replied as he stood tall.

"I need a second," Jax said.

"I second," Tig said with a nod. No one argued with Jax's decision.

"Tig, I want you to remain SAA, and Bobby as Secretary." Jax stated. Both nodded in agreement.

"Now that we have that out of the way, let's move onto other matters. What are we going to do about the brothers?" Bear said.

Jax sat down in the front pew and ran a hand over his hair. "I have no fucking clue. They have been ahead of us the whole time."

"We need to change up the game," Stone said. "Make them play by our rules."

"How?" Juice asked. "I have run every type of background check on them and came up with nothing. The house was the best lead we had and we know how that ended up."

"Let's face it," Bear started. "We were all caught off by the events that have taken place. However it's not going to change the fact they are after Addison for whatever sick reason."

"To bad we can't lure them out, and just kill the fuckers." Kip mumbled from the back of the room.

"We are not using Addison as bait!" Jax shouted as he stood up and started to pace in the front of the chapel.

"We would never use her as bait," Bear said trying to calm the young man down.

"No, but we could use someone who looks like her." Stone said as he thought out loud. "Use a fake, and send Addison as far from town as we can get her."

Bear rubbed his chin, "That just might work."

"So what?" Jax asked, "dress some crow eater up and make her act as Addison, wait for them to make a move? What if we can't get them? What if we aren't fast enough? I'm not going to have more blood on our hands."

"Would you rather risk Addison, or some used up cunt?" Tig asked, knowing what the answer would be.

Jax didn't say anything, he didn't need to.

"Bella, she has the right body build, and hair color." Juice said grimly.

"What do we do about Addison?" Chibs asked.

"Couple of Nomads could take her on a road trip, keep her moving." Stone said. "Moving target's harder to hit."

"Could work," Bobby said as he finished pulling the white threads off the patch. "Who would stay with Addison?"

"Hammer," Tig, Jax and Juice all voiced at the same time. Everyone knew the large Son would do anything to keep the young woman safe.

"No," Stone said, looking down. "If we want this plan to work, Hammer has to stay here, with our fake Addison. We have to assume the brothers have been watching, that they know Hammer is close to her. They are smart, they would smell something was up, if all of a sudden he left."

"So who then?"

_**SOA**_

"He ain't going to like this," Happy replied to the news he just received. He, along with the other Nomads, had been instructed on keeping an eye on the waiting room while the Redwood charter had church. He hadn't known how long it would take, and was surprised when they made their way out of the hospital chapel forty-five minutes later.

Everyone noticed the change in the members as they filed out of the room. The mother charter members, along with Bear and Stone, were standing tall and held a sense of accomplishment. He also noticed Jax and Chibs were missing their cuts, and Bobby was holding them tenderly in his hands. He didn't have to guess what had taken place behind the closed doors. He always respected Jax, and knew he would make a great President. He knew it wasn't under the best circumstance, but the club had to move on. Things needed to be dealt with and they couldn't just put everything on hold while Clay recovered. The brothers wouldn't stop coming until they got Addison, and the Sons weren't about to let that happen. Not after everything they had been through to this point.

"He doesn't have to like it," Stone said as he stood beside the killer. "If we want this plan to work, everyone has their role to play."

"Yeah, but you're telling him," Happy said in understanding. Everyone knew Hammer to be a fun loving guy, but Stone and Happy knew Hammer also had some underlying anger issues.

"I'll tell him, but you gotta pry him away from the little lady." Stone said as he nodded over to where Hammer was sitting in a chair next to Addison. His large frame made it look like he was sitting more in a child's chair, rather than one for an adult. Stone was surprised the cheep plastic seat hadn't broken under his monstrous size and weight.

Happy had to give it to the big man; Hammer wasn't letting up on trying to get a response out of Addison. He could only guess what was going on in her mind. The news her uncle would live, right after overhearing what they found in the house, was sure to be overwhelming.

Rolling his shoulders he called out to Hammer, pulling him away from Addison and over to where Stone and he were standing outside in the hallway. "Hammer," it was simple, yet got the point across to his large brother.

Happy watched on as he said something softly to Addison as he pulled himself up and out of the chair, a cracking nose echoing within the waiting room.

"You break it, you buy it," Cooler said, getting a reserved laugh out of everyone.

"The chair can't handle all this greatness, it was bound to happen." Hammer replied with his trademark smile, walking over to his President. "What's going on?" Hammer asked as he stopped in front of Happy and Stone. "I see the mother charter promoted Jax."

"Yeah," Stone said. "…best for the club right now."

"So what are we going to do about the shit heads?" Hammer asked, inquiring about the brothers.

"We gotta plan, and you have a large role to play." Stone said.

"You know I would do anything for the kid," Hammer nodded. "So what do you need from me?"

"We're sending Addison out of town with two Nomads; keep her moving while we set a trap for the brothers." Stone said, watching Hammer carefully.

"Good plan, moving target is harder to hit." Hammer said, agreeing with the same logic that Stone had said in the chapel. "So who is going with me?" He asked, assuming he was one of the two Nomads going with Addison.

"Happy and Bull are taking her, you're staying here." Stone said, rolling his shoulders and standing tall. Both Happy and Stone knew Hammer wasn't going to take the news very well.

"What?" Hammer asked confused.

"We need you to stick around town for this plan to work," Stone replied.

"That's fucking shit!" Hammer yelled out, his face turning red with anger. Clearly he didn't care who overheard him.

"Calm the shit down," Happy said in a deadly voice as he looked around the hallway. Nurses and passing doctors were stopping to watch. They didn't need an audience right now.

"You don't have to like it," Stone said in a calm and firm voice. "If we want this plan to work, you will stay behind and do your part. I chose Hap and Bull for a reason."

Hammer turned around, and Happy could see the tension in his shoulders. Hammer was trying to calm down, and he knew Hammer was only doing so because Addison was now watching him. With a deep breath, he turned around to face Hap and Stone. "Fine," he said with his hands resting on his hips. He then turned to Happy and pointed a finger, "If anything happens to her..."

"You better get that finger out of my face if you want to keep it." Happy said, his eyes darkening. Normally he wouldn't have said anything, he would have just taken the finger, bent it back until it broke or until Hammer begged him to stop. However Hap knew Hammer was just worried. He didn't like the idea of letting Addison out his sight, but he should have known never to threaten Happy, let alone point a finger at him.

Hammer retracted his hand, and took a step back, but didn't back down. He turned over to Stone, "When do they leave?"

"Now," Stone said. "If we want this plan to work, we can't waste anymore time." Stone told Hammer the full extent of the plan. How they would use Bella, a crow eater to fill in as Addison while Happy and Bull took her out of town on a 'road trip'. It was a simple plan, but had many ways of becoming messy quick. If the brothers fell for the bait, they hoped to end their sick game within a week. However should things go south, Addison would be far enough away and out of their reach.

With the hard part out of the way, telling Hammer the plan, it came time to fill Addison in. Stone had moved forward to talk with her, when Hammer held out his hand to stop him. "Let me talk to her," he said in a soft voice.

"Make it quick," Stone said smoothly.

"I ain't going to just drop a bomb on her, she's been through enough." Hammer said firmly as he made his way back to the seat. Stone looked over to Happy, they both agreed it was best to have Hammer tell her the news. Happy didn't like dealing with females when he didn't have too, and considering he was about to go on a road for an unknown amount of time with Addison, he was more than happy to let Hammer deal with delivering the news.

"Let's get Ellie and Gemma out of the room," Stone said, "they are just going to bitch if they overhear what's going on."

"Bear," Happy called out, getting the man's attention. Bear had found his way back over to his wife and Gemma. Both women were now standing with Jax, and it was clear Gemma was getting worked up over the news of Jax's promotion. Words couldn't be heard from where they stood, but both men could see she was saying something to her son. They seemed to be unaware of what was going on around them at the moment.

"I think Gemma and Ellie need to get something to eat." Stone said, the tone in his voice left no room for arguing.

Bear looked over to the two old ladies and then back down to Addison who was still seated, than to Hammer who was sitting beside her once again like a loyal guard dog. He understood what conversation was about to take place, and silently agreed with Stone. It would be wise to get Gemma and Ellie away for the time being.

"Come on, let's get you ladies something to eat." Bear said lovingly as he led the two older women out of the room.

"What about Addison?" Gemma said, planting her feet and not taking another step.

"Addison will catch up with you in a few," Bear lied. He had the suspicion this would be the last time Ellie and Gemma would see the young woman. If Happy and Stone were smart, which he knew they were, they would get Addison out of the hospital and out of town while he had the two mother hens out of the way.

There would be hell to pay later when Ellie and Gemma learned what had done, but it was for the best.

_**Author's Note:**_ So there you have it! Oh Gemma and Ellie are not going to be happy to learn they snuck Addison out! Oh and there you have it… she will soon be on the road with Happy and Bull. I hope you all understand why Hammer isn't going to be going with her; this is a Happy/Addison story…not a Hammer/Addison story. As always reviews are welcome, I love to hear what you guys have to say and think about the story so far.


	25. Chapter 24

**Authors Notes:** I hope you all can forgive me for taking so long on getting this chapter out. As many of you know this is my baby, and I started to over think it some. But thanks to my awesome new beta, she was able to slap me out of my funk!

Also, she brought it to my attention that in the last two or so chapters I changed the spelling of Ellie/Elli, I hadn't meant to do this. The correct spelling is 'Elli' and I will be going back and making the changes to the other chapters at a later date.

As always I hope you all enjoy the new chapter, and please review when you're done! I love reading your thoughts on what's happening.

**Last time…**

_With the hard part out of the way, telling Hammer the plan, it came time to fill Addison in. Stone had moved forward to talk with her, when Hammer held out his hand to stop him, "Let me talk to her."_

"_Make it quick," Stone said smoothly. _

"_I ain't going to just drop a bomb on her, she's been through enough." Hammer said as he made his way back to the seat. Stone looked over to Happy, they both agreed that it was best to have him tell her the news. _

"_Let's get Ellie and Gemma out of the room," Stone said, "they are just going to bitch if they over hear what's going on." _

"_Bear," Happy called out, getting the man's attention. He had found his way back over to his wife and Gemma. _

"_I think Gemma and Ellie need to get something to eat." Stone finished, the tone in his voice left no room for auguring. _

_Bear looked over to the two old ladies and then back down to Addison, and Hammer who was seating beside her once again. He understood what was about to be said to the young lady, and silently agreed with Stone that it would be wise to get Gemma and Ellie away for the time being. _

"_Come on, let's get you ladies something to eat." Bear said lovingly as he led the two older women out of the room. _

"_What about Addison?" Gemma said, planting her feet and not taking another step. _

"_Addison will catch up with you in a few," Bear lied. He had the suspicion this would be the last time Ellie and Gemma would see the young woman. If Happy and Stone where smart, which he knew they were, they would get Addison out of the hospital and out of town while he had the two mother hens out of the way. _

_There would be hell to pay later when they learned what they had done, but it was for the best. _

**Born to Die **

**Chapter 24**

"What?" Addison questioned in a soft voice. She couldn't quite recall how she made her way from the waiting room to the hospital Chapel, but as she sat down on the front pew she hoped she was back on the hard plastic chair.

"Look, I know it's not going to be easy," Jax said as he knelt down in front of Addison. "But this is the only shot we have right now of catching these guys _and_ keeping you safe," he tried to explain to her. He knew it wasn't going to be easy for her. She had been through so much already. If there had been another option, he would consider it, however time was limited and not their friend at the moment.

Leaning back against the stiff back of the wooden bench, Addison looked down to her folded hands. "You want to send me away, while someone else takes my place," she stated. "You want me to be okay with putting someone else in the path of danger? Of death?" she asked, and then looked up and over to the other occupants of the room. It was hard to know what they were thinking; each one had a hard look set on their face. Other than Jax and herself, who were at the very front, Stone and Hammer rested against the back wall keeping close to the door.

With just the four of them, the room still felt crowed and Addison wanted nothing more than to leave the Chapel. She wanted to forget this conversation ever happened. She wanted Clay to be alright, and more than anything, she wanted those responsible to be found and dealt with.

"No," Jax said with a slight shake of his head. "We know you would never be okay with it, that's why we ain't asking you sweetheart." Jax said calmly. She may be family, but she had no say in what was going on. She was in the care of the club, and in order to keep her safe, they had to make the hard decisions for her.

"We're simply telling you what's going to happen. Bella is already on her way over, when she gets here you guys are going to swap clothes. Because we don't have a whole lot of time, and we need this to be believable, you can't take anything with you." Jax continued to say. He knew he was asking a lot of her.

"I'm supposed to leave with nothing? Just the clothes on my back, that won't even by my own." Addison said with a hint of frustration in her voice. It was clear to everyone in the room she wasn't happy.

With a deep breath, Jax looked up and over to Stone and Hammer. He knew they had nothing to say at the moment, but it was reassuring to see Stone nod firmly. If everyone was being honest, no one liked the idea of sending her away and using a replacement. The longer their farce went on, the better chance they had at the brothers figuring out what was going on. It would blow their plan of trying to catch them, and it would place even more people in danger. While everyone agreed that Addison's life was worth more to them than Bella's, the croweater was still connected to the club. Sons take care of what was theirs, no matter what their role.

"We need the brothers to believe Bella is you, which means she is going to have to wear your clothing. We are trying to make this work the best we can." Jax replied.

"Great," Addison said under her breath. "I'm sure my clothing will see more action than me." The thought of a croweater wearing her clothing wasn't a pleasant one. Already thoughts of how much she would have to burn and replace crossed her mind. She didn't own a lot, but what she did she valued. The slight chuckle from Hammer told her they all had heard the comment.

Addison looked up at Jax. She could see the stress lines in his brow, the worry in his eyes. She knew he had a lot to deal with, and she didn't want to add to his burden. She knew the role of women in this type of life, and she was glad they had done so much for her already. However she was reaching her limit, there was only so much she could take before she broke.

Silence hung in the small Chapel.

"You gonna have to do your part." Jax said, trying to get her to see the larger picture.

"Do my part?" Addison asked, her voice soft yet cynical. Jax leaned back and rubbed his face with his hands. He looked over her shoulder to Stone and Hammer with a look of concern, worry and hurt. He didn't like the idea anymore than she, but it needed to be done. He couldn't focus on catching and killing the brothers with her so close to the kill zone.

Without being asked or told, Hammer moved away from his post by the door and made his way to Addison. Jax stood and made room for the larger Son. "Addi," Hammer said trying to get the young women to look up at him. "We know you've done more than enough, and the last thing we want is to ask you to do something you don't want to," he continued. "But, this has to happen. We won't be able to go after these sick fuckers if we are worried about you." Hammer rested his large hands on her slender shoulders.

Addison understood. This was going to happen one way or another. Either she could fight them on it every step of the way, making it difficult for whoever was going with her. Or she could own up to what was asked of her and make the best out of an already bad situation. Looking down at her hands, she voiced the one question that had been running around her head from the moment they told her she would be leaving. "Who's going with me?" she asked in a low tone.

"Bull," Jax said from where he stood behind Hammer. "He has the best record on the road. Happy also."

"It won't rise to many eyebrows to have two nomads leave, and between the two of them they know the roads the best." Stone added in his deep tumble voice. "They'll keep you safe, while on the move."

"Happ's one bad man," Hammer said, trying to reassure her. "Even I wouldn't fuck with him too much."

"Bull's good with women." Stone added bluntly. Addison felt her redden at his words. "Not like that, little lady." Stone said. "He grew up with sisters, he _understands_ women." The man said trying to correct himself and put Addison at ease. The mood in the room lifted, if only a little.

"I'm not afraid of leaving, of being on the road." Addison said boldly, trying to convince herself more than the men in the room. "I've lived my whole life traveling, remember." She said. It was true; she lived most her life on the road, moving from one place to another. It wouldn't be anything new, but she had grown to enjoy being a part of a charter, having so many people around her. She missed being on the road, but she found her chest tightening at the thought of not knowing when she would be able to come back. Looking up, she met Jax's gaze. "I have a problem with someone taking my place, it should be me." she added.

"No!" Jax stated firmly, loud and angry.

"Not going to happen, sweetheart." Stone said at the same time Jax had his outburst.

Hammer, tightened his hold on her shoulders. "Over my dead body," he said firmly. His tone more caring.

Addison was startled by their comments and Jax's rage. She knew they were only doing what they thought was best, but the idea of someone taking her place didn't set well with her. It seemed cowardly. She was about to argue her case and question Jax more on the finer points of this plan when there was a solid knock on the door. Looking up, Addison didn't miss the way Jax reached behind his back for his weapon, both Hammer and Stone doing the same. With a nod from Jax, Stone opened the door to see Cooler poke his head in.

"Everything's set. Bella is in the waiting room," Cooler said.

"Okay," Jax said with a deep breath. "Let's get this done." Looking down at Addison, he held out his hand. "You have to trust us," he said as he pulled her up and into a strong hug. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

"Promise me you won't let anything happen to her," Addison said as she pulled away. "Promise me nothing will happen to Bella, and that you'll catch them and this will be over."

Addison didn't miss the look Jax gave to his brothers, she knew it was a promise he couldn't make. In the short time she had known Jax, she knew he was a man of his word. "I promise we will do everything in our power to keep her safe." Jax said as he kissed her forehead. It was the best he could offer her.

With weak legs, Addison walked with Jax back to the waiting room. Hammer and Stone right behind them. She knew what was going to happen next, not all the details, but what was needed of her and she would be lying if she said she wasn't scared. She was terrified. So much was riding on this crazy plan working. Now it wasn't just her and Clay's life hanging in the balance, but Bella and whoever else was taking part. She worried for Hammer who would be staying behind to keep watch over Bella, her stand in. She worried about Jax and all the pressure he was now under because of the problem that followed her. How many more lives would be affected before this was all over? Her mind questioned if she was even worth it.

Jax tightened his grip on her shoulder as he walked her to the waiting room, pulling her out of the dark thoughts that were flooding her mind. The waiting room was fairly empty, Addison could only guess that Bear was keeping Elli and Gemma away until everything was done. She could almost see it in her mind's eye, both women putting up a fight if they learned about the plan before hand. She knew they weren't going to be happy when they found out what was happening and she was gone.

Looking around the seemingly empty room, she saw Cooler and Bull standing next to the young blond who would be taking her place. Addison was glad she wasn't wearing anything too revealing, she wasn't sure if it had been Bella's idea, or one of the Son's, but she was thankful. The idea of swapping clothing with someone wasn't very appealing, and even less with a croweater. The other young woman was wearing a pair of dark grey jeans, and thin white top under a blue zipper hoodie. A dark pair of sunglass held her hair away from her face, and a large studded purse hung on her arm. The clothing, while they covered her, also hugged her body tightly.

"Bella, why don't you go take Addison to the bathroom." Jax said. Everyone recognized what the request was, Jax wanted things done. There was no more time to sit around and talk, it was time for action.

"Sure," Bella said with a smile. "Come on sweetheart," Bella said as she approached Addison, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and leading her down the hall. Hammer and Cooler following them.

Addison bit her tongue, there was so much she wanted to say and ask, but she knew this wasn't the time. She allowed Bella to lead her away, noticing the heavy foot falls of their shadows. With a deep breath Addison tried to focus on what needed to be done. Step one was to have her and Bella swap clothing, and places. With this step she knew Hammer would be staying behind. He had been a strong rock for her during this whole shit storm and she was going to miss him.

"Here we are," Bella said with a light voice. Addison walked inside the washroom with the croweater, Hammer right behind them, leaving Cooler to wait outside. There wasn't anyone in the room thankfully, and Hammer took up his post by the door. Addison couldn't help but notice he hadn't even bothered to turn around; he simply crossed his arms and stood tall, like a statue.

"Make it fast," Hammer said with a deep voice. "If this takes too long, it may tip them off. We don't know if they are watching, or have someone watching." Addison had a strong feeling he was talking more to Bella rather than herself.

"Right," Bella said as she tugged off her light weight hoodie, tossing it over a stall door. She didn't waste any time in lifting her thin white top over her head, reviling a small waist with what looked like bite marks around her hips. She wasn't bothered at all by Hammer, and Addison found she slightly envied the other woman. Bella seemed so comfortable in her own skin.

Addison knew she shouldn't have been caught off guard by the other girl's openness, but she couldn't help but blush at her willingness to strip right in front of a man. Addison decided to walk behind the large stall before removing her own clothing. A voice also told her Hammer wouldn't care too much to see _her_ strip down.

It wasn't long before they had stripped down and redressed, completely swapping clothing. Other than her bra and panties, everything she wore was Bella's. Addison found it shocking that they seemed to truly be the same size. Bella's clothing fit, they're style was a bit more tight than she would normally wear, but they fit. Rolling her shoulders trying to feel comfortable in her new wardrobe, Addison tugged on the hoodie zipper pulling it upward. With a deep breath, she walked out from behind the stall to see Bella messing with her hair in the mirror.

Looking up to the larger man standing by the door, Addison felt a small bit a relief as he nodded in approval. She was glad that the clothing covered her. She had been worried that she would have to change into a revealing outfit that would show off more skin than she was comfortable or willing to show.

Hearing water running, she looked back over to Bella and watched as she washed her face, the make-up she had worn rinsing away down the sink. Addison made her way over to the towel dispenser and gathered a good amount of the rough brown paper. Waiting for Bella to finish, Addison handed her the wad as she turned off the water. Addison was surprised at how much of a difference it made, Bella looked much younger. Without the heavy amounts of foundation, dark blush, thick eyeliner and bold eye shadow, her natural appearance was beautifully soft.

"Thanks," Bella said as she threw the used towels away.

"I should be the one thanking you," Addison said softly. "I'm…" she was unable to complete her thought as Bella reached out and held her shoulders.

"There's nothing to thank me for, sweetie. I'm glad I can finally do something helpful." Bella said with a smile. "The Sons offered me a place to stay, gave me a home when I didn't have one, I'm more than happy to do this for the club."

Addison wasn't sure what to say, she never thought Bella would be _willing_ to act as her stand in. She still didn't like the idea, but something in her chest eased at the fact that the guys weren't forcing Bella into this role. The young woman seemed to genuinely want to play the part.

"Oh," Bella said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her sunglasses. "These should help cover your face when you leave," she said slipping the sunglasses into place on Addison's noise.

"Thanks," Addison said, it was thoughtful of Bella.

"Also," Bella said handing over her purse. "I stuffed it with a few of your more 'personal' things before I left the clubhouse. After all, I don't think I need to wear your bra and underwear for this to work." She said with a light laugh.

"Thank you," Addison said softly taking the bag and slipping it on her arm.

"Okay, times up." Hammer stated as he opened the door.

Bella walked out ahead of Addison, and it didn't go unnoticed how the large Son watched the croweater as she walked past him. Walking toward the door, Addison stopped next to Hammer and quickly gave him a hug. Knowing this would be the last time she would see him for a while, she thanked him. "Thank you, for everything you have done for me," she said into his cut.

"You don't need to thank me, sweetheart." Hammer said as he returned the hug and rested his chin on her head.

Pulling away, she walked out of the bathroom making sure the sunglasses were pushed up in their proper place. Bella stood next to Cooler, keeping her head down and allowing her blond hair to cascade around her face. Making her way next to the other woman, Addison turned and took a step toward the waiting room, only to have Cooler reach out and grab a hold of her upper arm.

"We go this way," Cooler said as he looked back to Hammer, giving him a silent nod.

"But," Addison said as she looked back between the two large men.

"Bear wasn't able to keep Gemma and Elli away for long, their back in the waiting room. Saw them pass while you guys where changing. Jax doesn't want them to know what's going on yet, so you are coming with me, and Hammer is going to take 'Addison' down to get something to eat." Cooler said, letting Hammer know he had to wait a while longer before returning to the waiting room, it would buy them a little more time.

"Right," Hammer said tugging his 'Addison' down the hall, away from the waiting room.

The real Addison allowed herself to be lead down another hallway to the back entrance of the hospital. She wasn't surprised to find a dark grey van waiting with Ax and Twitch inside. She could only guess they were to be her escorts. She wasn't sure how this was all going to work out, but she had faith in the Sons to know what they were doing.

The sound of the van door sliding shut was deafening, and she was thankful for the silence. Neither Son said a word, and she was thankful they weren't trying to convince her everything was going to be alright. Glancing up, she caught Twitch peek back at her while he drove. Ax looked like he was keeping an eye out for anyone following or anything strange. She wasn't sure how long they drove, or where they were taking her, but she knew they were getting close to their destination when they pulled off the main road. The van pumped up and over the gravel path, and Addison could hear tree branches scrap along the side of outer van. Wherever they were, it was secluded and offered cover.

"Now we wait," Ax said as he adjusted himself in his seat. 

"Here," Twitch offered a wrapped bar. "They won't stop until sundown, you should eat."

Addison reached out and took the bar with a thankful nod. She wasn't hungry, her stomach feeling like it would drop any time. Holding the bar in her hand, she rested her head back and tried to calm down. Closing her eyes she found herself offering up a prayer. She asked for strength, protection for the club and Bella, and justice for her father and Clay.

The thundering rumble of motorcycles brought her back, and her chest clenched.

**S.o.A**

He knew why they picked him, just as he knew why they choose Bull. They didn't have to voice their reason or concerns. It was well known that Bull had a strange knack for understanding women, and he was glad to have the other man along. It meant he wouldn't be forced to worry about the girl, he could keep his eyes and ears open for any danger.

Happy knew the likelihood of this plan actually working, and the odds were not in their favor. Happy knew his orders were to keep Addison moving and safe, while SAMCRO dealt with the treat. He wanted to be there with them, he was a man of mayhem. He was a killer. That was his role in the club, to eliminate danger and threats.

He wanted to take part in the search; however deep down he knew his task was much more important. Whispers echoed in his mind that he would see his own share of bloodshed.

Now he would take on the role of protector, and he wouldn't fail. His brothers trusted him to keep Addison safe, and on the road there were a lot more dangers than two sick brothers. Between himself and Bull they had their work cut out for them. Welcomed the challenge and he welcomed the fuckers to try and take her away from him.

**Authors Notes:** I struggled with this chapter for a while, because I wanted to get to the Addison/Happy, but I didn't want to disrupt the flow of the story. This may be a filler chapter, but there are some things that needed to be flushed out. The next chapter is going to be full of Addison/Happy/Bull.

Please leave a review, I love to hear what you guys think!


	26. Chapter 25 - Part 1

**Author's Note:** Alright, I hope you all enjoy this new chapter!

**Last time…**

_"Now we wait," Ax said as he adjusted himself in his seat._

_"Here," Twitch offered a wrapped bar. "They won't stop until sundown, you should eat."_

_Addison reached out and took the bar with a thankful nod. She wasn't hungry, her stomach feeling like it would drop any time. Holding the bar in her hand, she rested her head back and tried to calm down. Closing her eyes she found herself offering up a prayer. She asked for strength, protection for the club and Bella, and justice for her father and Clay._

_The thundering rumble of motorcycles brought her back, and her chest clenched._

_S.o.A_

_He knew why they picked him, just as he knew why they choose Bull. They didn't have to voice their reason or concerns. It was well known that Bull had a strange knack for understanding women, and he was glad to have the other man along. It meant he wouldn't be forced to worry about the girl, he could keep his eyes and ears open for any danger._

_Happy knew the likelihood of this plan actually working, and the odds were not in their favor. Happy knew his orders were to keep Addison moving and safe, while SAMCRO dealt with the treat. He wanted to be there with them, he was a man of mayhem. He was a killer. That was his role in the club, to eliminate danger and threats._

_He wanted to take part in the search; however deep down he knew his task was much more important. Whispers echoed in his mind that he would see his own share of bloodshed._

_Now he would take on the role of protector, and he wouldn't fail. His brothers trusted him to keep Addison safe, and on the road there were a lot more dangers than two sick brothers. Between himself and Bull they had their work cut out for them. Welcomed the challenge and he welcomed the fuckers to try and take her away from him._

**Born to Die **

**Chapter 25 – Part 1**

A dull ache spread across her lower back. Addison kept telling herself it was a result of leaning forward, arms wrapped around the midsection of the man in front of her. Clutching her thighs to keep her steady on the powerful motorcycle she tried to roll her hips, hopping it would relieve some of the discomfort. Resting her head between Bull's shoulder blades, Allison took a deep breath. She thought the plastic hospital chairs had been bad and unforgiving, but this was worse. She hadn't ridden bitch for this distance in a long time, she hadn't thought it would give her this much of a problem. Apparently she was wrong.

They had only stopped to refill the gas tanks and relieve their bladders. During one of those stops she had dug out the bar Twitch handed to her before she had left. The sun had been setting, the sky fading from blue to black as she chewed the horrible snack. She had been afraid to check the wrapper to see when it expired; hopping it was just disgustingly healthy and not spoiled. She had been glad Bull offered her a bottle of water to wash it down with while they waited for Happy to return from the restroom.

While her back was causing her discomfort, Addison would admit it felt good being on the open road. There were no strange looks from outsiders, or glance of concern from club members. It allowed her to force thoughts of Clay and the brothers out of her mind. She was just a girl on the back of a bike. It was calming and peaceful.

Until the pain would intensify and remind her it hadn't gone anywhere.

She heard and felt the engine shifting down a gear, and looked up to see the bike ahead of them pull off the main highway and onto the side drive. It wasn't long before Happy turned once again, slowing down and arranging his bike to park in front of a rundown looking roadhouse café. Bull mimicked him, and once Addison knew he was parked she lifted her right leg up and over, getting off from behind him. Standing tall, she held her lower back and tried to roll her hips once again. It did nothing for the pain rooting in her lower back.

"You alright?" Happy questioned, his raspy voice sounding just as hard as it always did. Looking up and over to the man, Addison nodded and reached up to unclasp the helmet she had borrowed from Bull. She hadn't even heard the tattooed man dismount his ride or move beside her.

"Yeah," she replied. She didn't want to start complaining about her discomfort. She wasn't sure how long she would be on the road with them, and starting it off by saying her back was hurting wasn't ideal. She would just have to suck it up. Maybe after a break and some rest it would ease, she would just have to tough it out.

"We'll grab something to eat, and then find a place to crash in another hour." Happy informed her as he led the way to the door. He pulled open the rustic looking wooden door and took a step inside, holding the door open for her to follow. Bull came up behind her and took hold of it, allowing Happy to move farther inside the establishment. The whole time, Addison was between the two of them.

It didn't feel odd, like she thought it would. She had been expecting to feel smothered, but it was oddly comforting. Clearly Happy had gone in first to survey the area, making sure it was clear of any danger. However, he did so in such a smooth fashion that he simply looked like a road weary and hungry biker.

Stepping fully into the café, Addison noticed it was fairly empty. She only spotted one other customer, an older looking trucker sitting at the counter. Catching a glimpse at the clock hanging on the wall above him, she saw it was well past midnight. Recalling what Happy said in the parking lot, Addison figured they wouldn't stop to rest until around three in the morning.

Looking around the classic rock themed café, Addison felt like she could relax a little. While it was old, it was clean and well maintained. A single elderly waitress stood behind the bar counter whipping it clean, her graying brown hair twisted up into a somewhat fancy bun. While she was clearly in her fifties, she still kept a clean appearance. Her face was flawless, her makeup applied expertly, and her uniform was clean.

"Welcome in," she called out with a smile. "Feel free to take a seat wherever you'd like, I'll be right over with something to drink. Cold beer or hot coffee?" she asked as she stopped whipping the counter to get their drink order.

"Coffee, black." Happy said as he walked down the aisle to the far corner.

"Make that two," Bull said with a charming smile.

"And for you sweetheart?" she asked Addison with a warm smile.

"Just water, please." Addison replied as she made her way to the booth Happy had found close to the emergency exit.

"Sure thing," she said as she turned and started to gather their drinks. Addison could tell this woman valued customer service, and would bet she was the owner.

Sliding into the leather booth, across from Happy, she took out a menu from behind the salt and pepper. She wasn't surprised when Bull sat down next to her. While she looked over the dishes offered, she heard the waitress walk over and set down their drinks, she even brought a thermal pot of coffee for refills.

"Need a few minutes to look things over, or do you guys know what you would like?" She asked standing at the end of their booth with ease and comfort. She wasn't intimated. Addison could only imagine she was used to seeing all types of people, from every walk of life, on a daily bases. Even without their cuts, Happy and Bull still gave off an 'alpha' vibe. Authority and intimidation rolled off Happy in waves, Addison wasn't sure if he was aware of his effect on others, or if it was something he had grown the master. Bull on the other hand was more approachable, however the way he held himself told of his confidence and overall grit.

"The number seven," Happy ordered as he leaned back. "Extra bacon and ham." Addison didn't miss the fact that nether him or Bull had looked at the menu.

"Sure thing," the woman said as she looked over to Bull and Addison, not bothering to write anything down.

"I'll have the number ten," Bull said leaning forward, resting his elbows on the table. "Could you add an extra order of pancakes to that?"

"Sure, not a problem." She nodded her head. "And you sweetheart?"

"Umm," Addison didn't want to waste anymore time looking things over and keep them from getting their order, so she just ordered something easy. "Just some toast with a side of eggs, please."

"Sure, how would you like your eggs?"

"Scrambled, please." Addison replied shyly. She had the feeling Happy and Bull had been here before, why hadn't the waitress asked them how they wanted their eggs?

"Good deal, I'll have your order right out. If you need anything just holler."

Addison heard the waitress walk away as she replaced the menu back in its previous location. Looking down at her hands, she struggled with how to fill the silence. She wasn't sure if either of them was in a talkative mood, and she knew they had to be worn out and tired, so she remained quite.

"How's your back?" Happy asked. Looking up she found his dark eyes set right on her. It was unnerving to be on the receiving end of his full attention, and guessed she would have to get used to it.

"Its fine," she answered softly.

"You sure about that?" Bull questioned as he looked over at her. "I could feel you wiggling and worming behind me for the last ten miles."

"I'm sorry," she apologized as she looked over to the blond man. "Just been a while since I had to ride this long a distance." Addison added truthfully. It wouldn't do to lie to them, and it wasn't quite complaining.

"We need to put as much as distance between us and Charming as we can," Happy said, his eyes still locked on her.

"I know," Addison said placing her hands on the table. She did, she understood why they had rode long and hard. Everything they were doing, and would do, was to keep her safe.

It wasn't long after that, their waitress returned with their order. Happy and Bull dug into their food like they hadn't eaten in days, devouring everything on their plates. Addison on the other hand, picked at her eggs and nibbled on her toast. Now that she was off the thunderous bike and sitting down, she found herself tired and noted her stomach was feeling uneasy. She didn't want to risk eating anything if it was going to make her feel worst. Between her back pain and growing discomfort in her gut, she just wanted to curl in a bed and rest. Hopefully everything would be better in the morning.

"Eat," Happy ordered, looking up from his plate.

"I'm not really that hungry." Addison replied, setting her fork down on the plate.

"You need to eat, or you'll feel worse later." Bull added. "At least eat the eggs, good protein."

Not wanting to argue or fight, Addison lifted the fork up once again and started working on the eggs. After the last bite, her stomach clinched and she had to stop herself from leaning over to ease the painful cramp. She knew it was the wrong feeling for food poisoning, she wasn't nauseated. There was no feeling of being sick, it was a gut retching clench. Her mind went to that damn bar she had consumed earlier that day.

"Excuse me," Addison said, moving closer to Bull hoping he understood she needed to get up. "Need to use the ladies room," she added when he just looked at her.

"Sure," Bull said as he slid out and stood up, allowing her to get out of the booth. "Door on the left," he said pointing down a small hallway. There was a straight shot from their booth, and she was glad Happy and Bull didn't make a move to get up and follow her.

The stabbing pain returned as she walked into the small bathroom and she made her way to the first stall. She hoped and prayed to God that she wasn't going to have any _difficulties_; she would never take anything from Twitch ever again.

Slipping her pants down, she sat on the cold toilet. She hoped she could work out whatever was wrong with her and be done with it. _'This is so embarrassing'_ Addison thought as she sat and waited. Another cramp dug deep and she couldn't help but curl in on herself. She felt cold as chills washed over her body. After it passed she opened her eyes, not recalling ever closing them, and looked down.

"Well fuck," she said as she looked down to her panties. There, staining the white material, were a few bold drops of blood. "Shit," she breathed out. Everything made perfect since now, her back pain and the cramping. With everything that had been going on, she hadn't even thought to pay attention to her body. She never thought about her more basic needs and functions. Now she was regretting it. "Why now?" she said out loud. '_Why couldn't I have started my period when I was still in Charming?'_ she thought with dread.

Here she was, in a rundown roadhouse café with two manly men waiting for her and starting her menstrual cycle without any type of female care products. She knew if she took too long, one of them would come looking for her and that would be humiliating.

Looking over to the thin toilet paper, she thought of how much would be needed to hold her over until she could convince them to stop so she could get a few _much_ needed supplies.

The sound of the bathroom door opening caused her heart to stop.

**Author's Notes:** I couldn't help but end it here! So who walked into the bathroom? Being on the road may protect her from the crazy sick brothers, but it doesn't mean she is going to have it easy. I hope you all enjoyed the new chapter.

As always, feel free to leave a review and let me know what you all thought!


	27. Chapter 25 - Part 2

**Author's Note:** I'm sorry that the last chapter was shorter; I couldn't help but leave it as a cliffhanger. (Evil grin) I hope you all enjoy this new chapter.

I wanted to also take a moment to say thank you to everyone who has been reviewing or have added this story to their alert/favorite list. I'm glad you are enjoying the story and I hope I can continue to meet your expectations.

Also, thank you to my Beta who has been bugging me every day to get this done.

**Last time…**

"_Well fuck," she said as she looked down to her panties. There, staining the white material, were a few bold drops of blood. "Shit," she breathed out. Everything made perfect since now, her back pain and the cramping. With everything that had been going on, she hadn't even thought to pay attention to her body. She never thought about her more basic needs and functions. Now she was regretting it. "Why now?" she said out loud. 'Why couldn't I have started my period when I was still in Charming?' she thought with dread. _

_Here she was, in a rundown roadhouse café with two manly men waiting for her and starting her menstrual cycle without any type of female care products. She knew if she took too long, one of them would come looking for her and that would be humiliating. _

_Looking over to the thin toilet paper, she thought of how much would be needed to hold her over until she could convince them to stop so she could get a few much needed supplies. _

_The sound of the bathroom door opening caused her heart to stop._

**Born to Die**

**Chapter 25 – Part 2**

Something was wrong with Addison. Happy knew there was a problem, he just wasn't sure what it was or how to go about fixing it. With a light growl, he leaned against the back of the booth. He recalled the pain and discomfort on her face when she dismounted from behind Bull. Her brow had been pinched and even in the poorly lit gravel parking lot, he could see her face was paler than when they had left.

It had been a hard decision to pull her away from Charming while Clay lay recovering in a hospital bed, but it needed to be done. He knew her mind would be on her uncle, wondering if he was going to recover fully or surrender to his wounds. His own mind wandered to Clay more than once. Clay was a founding member, First Nine. Should anything happen to him, the entire club would suffer. Clay was responsible for building many of the alliances, friendships and valued connections that helped support the club nationwide.

Happy knew Addison wasn't fully aware of Clay's role within the club; she wasn't concerned with revenue or keeping good relations. She only saw him as family, the last blood relation she had. There was something selfless in her worry for him. Something he could respect.

Thinking about the young woman, Happy couldn't help but question the decision of ridding for so long. Had their goal of getting as far away from Charming as quickly as possible, of pushing through the night, been the cause of her discomfort? He disliked doubting himself. He also disliked the empty feeling that his decision may be to blame.

Glancing up at the black clock mounted on faded the wall, he noted only two minutes passes.

"Something's bothering her," Bull said, voicing the same thought Happy had running in his head. Bull leaned forward on the table resting his arms, turning his head towards the small hallway that held the bathroom door.

They had both finished their meals; the waitress had come and removed the dishes from the table. When she asked if they wanted her to take Addison's plate also, they told her to hold off and wait. Addison had barely touched her food, and he wasn't all that trilled with what she ordered. The girl needed more meat on her, he understood there was a lot going on, but making herself sick wasn't going to do anyone any good. His mind reminded him of her pale complexion and rush to the bathroom.

"Can't help her if she won't tell us what's wrong." Happy commented. It was the truth; there was nothing they could do for her if she wouldn't tell them what the problem was.

His mind argued she should be used to the long travel time. Hadn't she lived most her life on the open road with her father? The Son in him pointed out this was why women didn't belong on the road, they complicated things. The male in him was angry he couldn't do anything to fix the problem. It felt like a harsh insult to his masculinity that she wouldn't tell them what was bothering her. Then again, he couldn't really blame her. They hadn't talked much, there was no reason for her to open up to him and trust him as she did with Hammer.

It was his responsibility, along with Bull, to make sure she was kept safe. They had been given very explicit directions to take _care_ of Addison while they were on the road, and not just keep her from the two sick fuckers. Hammer had all but threatened to bury him along with Bull if anything happened to her while she was in their care. Happy knew it upset the large Son to let the young women out of his sight, but it pissed him off that Hammer would think he wouldn't take this job seriously. He may not have spent a whole lot of time around the girl, but that didn't mean he didn't care about her. She was Quinn's daughter and Clay's last remaining family. She had Son's of Anarchy in her blood, she was as close to royalty as the club had.

"Should one of us go check on her?" Bull asked. "Make sure she's alright," he added as he looked back over to the hallway. The woman's bathroom door remained closed.

Happy glanced to look at the other man across from him while he thought over his response. He could tell it bothered Bull, knowing something was wrong with Addison. Everyone knew the blond biker grew up with sisters; it made him more perceptive to females. He understood them on a much more baser level, and Happy was glad Bull had been the other member along on this 'journey'.

Looking back up at the clock he saw it had now been eight minutes. No one had come or gone from the bathroom, so he knew there wasn't any immediate danger, but there was a growing uneasiness in his gut. He wondered what was going on behind the closed door. He knew she wasn't checking her makeup, she hadn't been wearing any. She didn't need too. Readjusting in his seat, he couldn't help but growl at the thought as it crossed his mind.

"We'll give her a few more minutes." Happy said as he leaned forward and poured himself another cup of hot coffee trying to clear his mind. He hadn't given much thought to her appearance, and knew it would be dangerous to do so now. Sure he noticed how she had natural beauty; her clear complexion and creamy skin seemed to hold a soft glow. He was sure if he had met her under different circumstances, a happier time, she would have radiated beauty.

With a shake of his head and an inner grunt, he told himself to stop thinking about her in anyway other than to keep her safe. It would only complicate things if he started thinking like a man, and not a soldier on a mission. That's what he was, just a warrior given orders. His role in the club was defender and protector; he followed orders given to him. The Club came first, it was as simple as that. Besides, it would be disrespectful to both Quinn and Clay to think of Addison in a carnal or intimate way.

Bull nodded his head in agreement. Reaching out for the thermal decanter that held the coffee, he made to pour himself another cup when only a few drops fell out. "Asshole," Bull said, glaring across the table.

Happy only grinned at Bull's misfortune as he took a nice long pull of his own dark rich drink. He watched as Bull turned around to look for the waitress, asking her to bring over more coffee. She nodded from behind the counter and began to gather a fresh pot. When she arrived, placing the pot in the middle and removing the empty one, Bull snatched it up and held it close.

"This is mine," Bull said, pouring the fresh brew in his cup.

"Don't drink too much," Happy replied as he watch the younger member down his new cup and pour his third. "Won't be stopping again till we rest for the night, another hour or so," he said.

Bull was silent for a moment, thinking as he enjoyed his new cup of coffee. "Think she can handle another hour?" he asked as he placed his off-white mug down. "Or should we call it a night and find a place in the next town?"

Happy thought about the option of stopping for the night. He didn't like to change his plans, there were reasons for everything he did and the choices he made. Looking up at the clock he saw it had been fifteen minutes and still no movement from the bathroom. He couldn't make any decisions until he knew what was wrong with Addison.

Leaning on the table top, he used it to push himself out of the booth and stood up. He didn't have to turn around to see Bull leaning back in his seat. There was no use in them both going. Taking a few steps down the hall, he stopped when the waitress stepped in front of him, coming out from behind the counter.

"If you're worried about her, I can check on her for you." She said with her hands on her hips. "I'm sure whatever is keeping her, she would rather you not go in there."

Happy eyed the woman in front of him. He knew she was an honest person, that's why they stopped at her road house. Marcy's husband was had been a friend of John Teller, from his time in the military. He had been a cook in the army and it had been his dream to open his own place if he ever made it back home.

Happy knew the story, as did most seasoned Son's. John offered Mark a place in the club, but he opted to start a family by marrying his high school sweetheart, Marcy. The friendship that was forged between Mark and John however was a strong one. Mark offered to help John and his club however he could, as long as his wife was kept out of it and safe. Happy wasn't privy to all the details, but he understood the man had helped the club on many occasions. It had affected the entire club when he passed away, and he had left his roadhouse and café to his wife.

Marcy made it clear from the get-go that it was now her place, and she didn't mind the club coming around, as long as they were only passing through. She didn't want any drama or dangers coming to the place her husband built, it was all she had left of the man she loved. John and the club understood and respected her wishes. The Nomads would stop by every time they passed to give her their business, and check to make sure everything was alright with her. They kept their eyes on her, as they had told Mark they would before he passed.

That was over ten years ago, and Marcy never bothered them with questions of the club or asking for anything. She treated them with respect and served good food.

Happy thought over her offer and nodded. He wasn't out to make Addison's life difficult, so he would allow Marcy to check on her. He was sure Addison would appreciate her rather than him or Bull walking into the woman's bathroom.

"I'm sure it's nothing," Marcy offered as she stood straight and turned to make her way to the bathroom. "Go back and sit down, I'll have Hank get you boys some pie," she said as she shouted out to the cook to bring the two men a slice of dessert.

Happy moved back to the booth and informed Bull that Marcy was going to check in on Addison.

"Not like you don't already know what the inside looks like," Bull said with a laugh. Happy shook his head with a knowing grin at Bulls comment. There may have been a time or two when he had ventured into the ladies washroom, and it wasn't because he chose the wrong door.

S.o.A

"Sweetheart," Addison heard the waitress call out as the heavy door closed. "You alright in there?"

"Yeah," Addison called out, her voice sounding weak even to her own ears.

"You got a couple of worried men sitting out there." Marcy said with a light laugh. "One almost came right on in himself."

"Great," Addison breathed out in a frustrated sigh. The last thing she wanted was Happy or Bull to walk in and check on her. She wasn't sure how she would have conveyed to them what the problem was.

"Problem?" Marcy asked as she rested against a sink. She saw the feet of Addison from under the stall door, could tell she was still sitting on the toilet. She had a few thoughts on what could be keeping the young woman hiding out in here, but wouldn't try and guess.

"Yeah, you could say that." Addison admitted. As embarrassing as it was, Addison was thankful it was the other woman who had come to check on her. She wouldn't have been able to ever look Bull or Happy in the eye ever again if they had learned what was keeping her locked up in the bathroom.

There was no reason to keep it a secret; surly the waitress would understand the dilemma she was in. "It's that time of month, and don't have _anything_ with me." It was silent for a second before Addison heard a humorous laugh and the clinging of keys.

"Oh, sweetheart," Marcy said as she moved over to the wall-mounted coin-operated dispenser. "Good thing I walked in here." She inserted the master key and opened the panel, revealing female care product. "Pad or tampon?" She asked in the same voice she asked how she wanted her eggs.

Heat flared across Addison's face. "Tampon, please," she said in a soft voice. The sound of plastic wrappers could be heard and then she saw a shadow move to stand in front of her stall door.

"Here you are," the waitress said as she handed Addison three tampons under the stall door. "A few extra to keep on you until you can find your own stash."

"Thank you," Addison said in honest gratitude as she took them. They weren't the same brand she was used to buying herself, not like a roadhouse café would spend that type of money on something like this. The hard cardboard applicator was uncomfortable, but she wasn't going to complain. Pulling herself together, she stood and pulled her pants up only to have a sharp pain stab her in her gut. "Shit," she couldn't help but breathed out. She wasn't expecting to have the cramps hit her so hard, so fast.

"That bad?" the waitress asked.

Addison couldn't even reply through the pain. Sliding the stall lock up, she opened the door, clutching the two remaining tampons in a death grip. Taking small steps out, she made her way over to the sink and turned the water on. She just needed a few minutes to gather herself. She could deal with the cramps, she would have to.

"Oh darling," the sad voice of the waitress spoke. Marcy could see the pain she was in. "Let me see if I can get you something for the pain, hold on." Marcy's heart ached for the girl.

Addison heard the door open and close, the room falling silent. Shoving the plastic wrapped feminine-care products into her back pocket, she leaned over the counter. Cupping her hands she splashed some cool water on her face. After a few more splashes she looked up at her appearance in the wall hung mirror. She looked like shit.

Reaching out for the brown paper towels, she dried her face and tried to stand up straight. Another sharp wave of pain shot through her causing her double back over. She had never had very painful cycles before, a few cramps here and there a few days before, but nothing like this.

With a deep breath, she tried again. Neither Happy nor Bull would be very understanding of her condition, and she wasn't about to go into detail about the level of pain and discomfort she was in. "Just deal with it," she said to herself. She had made it this far, this would just be another small hic-up for her to deal with.

S.o.A

Marcy walked out of the restroom and looked up at the two men sitting at the corner booth. She could see the concern in their eyes, and worry when they didn't see the girl behind her. Holding up a hand she waved them off, telling them to stay put. "Everything's fine," she said as she walked behind the counter. "How was your pie?" she asked to change the subject.

"Good," the blond biker said as he leaned back into the booth. Marcy could see the two empty plates. Men, they might be worried, but put free food in front of them and they would eat it.

"Glad to hear it," Marcy said back as she leaned down for what she was looking for. She always kept a bottle of pain killers within reach. She wasn't getting any younger, and working on her feet around the clock took its toll on her ageing body.

Finding the small white bottle, she popped the cap. Tipping it so four pills fell out into her palm; she returned the bottle to its place and stood up. Dark eye's met hers, and Marcy had to tighten her grip on the pain killers to keep them from slipping out her hand, shocked at Happy's sudden appearance at the counter.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked without very much finesse.

"Not my place to say." Marcy said back, standing up straight. "It's for her to tell you, or not."

Happy wanted to force her to tell them what was wrong with Addison, but his respect for her caused him to bite his tongue. All he wanted was a simple answer; it was pissing him off that he couldn't figure out what was wrong.

"I know you want to know, but it's really not my place." Marcy said with soft eyes. "She should be out in a few minutes, but I wouldn't ask her about it. Let her tell you, if she chooses to." She said as she began to walk out from behind the counter. "Oh, and I would think about calling it quits for the night."

Marcy didn't wait for a reply before marching back to the bathroom. Opening the door she spotted Addison leaning over the sink, clutching the edge with white knuckles.

"Here, take these." she said holding out the pills.

"What are they?" Addison asked as she allowed the white pain killers to fall into her open palm.

"They'll take the edge off," was all Marcy said. She watched as the young blond popped the pills in her mouth and then turned to cup her hands in the running water for a drink.

"Thank you," Addison said as she tried to stand up straight once more.

"Nothing to thank me for sweetheart, us women have to help each other out from time to time." Marcy said with a soft voice.

Addison nodded her head. She couldn't wait for whatever she had taken to kick in. She knew the two Sons out sitting in the booth would be growing impatient. She didn't want to make them wait any long than they already had.

"I also informed your travel companions to call it a night. There's a motel a few minutes down the highway. If they're smart and listen, they'll get a room for the night." Marcy saw Addison's face pale to an ashen grey before flaring with a heated blush. She knew what was crossing her mind. "Don't worry, I didn't tell them _what_ was wrong, not my place."

"Thank you," Addison found herself saying again.

"Take your time and wait for the pain killers to kick in," Marcy said as she headed back to the door. "I won't let them bother you until you're ready to come out. I'm sure you know they aren't the patient type though," Marcy said as she opened the door.

"Yeah," Addison said with a nod. "I'll be out in a minute." Resting against the sink with her head down, she tried to push all thoughts of pain and discomfort out of her mind. Only then did she realize what the older woman had said. Did she know who the Sons were?

S.o.A

When Marcy walked out for the second time, without Addison behind her, Happy pushed himself from the booth. He didn't like being left in the dark, and if something was wrong enough to keep the young woman in the restroom for almost half an hour, he needed to know why.

"Hap," Bull called out before he could take another step away from the table. "Let her come out on her own."

Happy growled and looked back at his blond brother. He didn't miss the calm look in Bulls eyes. "You aint' concerned?" he asked in an angry grunt as he pointed a strong finger to the bathroom door.

Bull's eyes hardened as he met Happy's glare. "I am," he said with a firm voice. "But I also know women have a lot to deal with on a more regular basis than men," he said as he looked down into his coffee. There was a hint of knowing in his tone that Happy didn't miss.

"What's wrong with her?" Happy asked as he sat back down harshly. "Do you know or not?" He wasn't all that happy thinking Bull might have known what the problem was this whole time, and not given voice to his thoughts. What had given him a clue from the time before Marcy went to check on Addison and now?

"I don't know for sure but I have an idea." Bull said softly. He grew up around women; he didn't have to be told what was going on to know. Women often didn't voice their concerns or problems, so Bull had become very good at reading the writing on the wall.

Happy waited for him to continue, and when he kept silent Happy spoke up gruffly. "You going to share your theory?"

Bull leaned back in the booth, turning his head to look around the roadhouse. Locating where Marcy was behind the counter, Bull then leaned forward and motioned for Happy to come closer.

"She's a chick," Bull stated.

"Yeah, I've noticed." Happy bit back.

"What do all chicks have in common?" Bull asked.

"Two sets of lips…" Happy replied, not at all liking the twenty questions game. He just wanted a straight answer.

Bull rolled his eyes and looked down shaking his head before making eye contact with the man across from him. He understood the killer was upset about not being in the know, but he didn't want to come out and say what his theory was. Hap was a smart man, and if Bull could give him a few hints, he knew the other man would come to the right conclusion.

"Think with the head on your shoulders, not between your legs." Bull said as he looked back over to the bathroom door. It was still closed. "Mother nature…" Bull hinted with a raised brow.

Happy didn't have to think any further, the thought struck him like an ice pick in the brain. "Fuck," he breathed out. It made since. She had been under a lot of stress, it was bound to have an effect on her body. The pained look on her face earlier, her pale color, the rush to the bathroom. She was starting her menstrual cycle. "Shit," he expressed again as he leaned back. This would complicate things.

The squeaking of a door opening drew both their attention to the bathroom. All the anger and frustration drained away. Happy's shoulders relaxed as he caught sight of Addison walking out of the restroom with her head down. It was hard to miss the short steps she took, her arms wrapped around her midsection. She was in pain, anyone could see it.

Bull removed himself from the table to allow Addison to slide back into her seat. She kept her head down and didn't say a word. Both Happy and Bull sipped their coffee while she tried to eat a bit more of her food, which was now cold. After a few minutes, Bull and Happy shared a knowing look. With a nod Happy turned to find Marcy. It was time to pay their bill and find a place to rest.

"Check," Happy said in a strong voice, getting the waitress's attention.

It wasn't long before Marcy had the check ready and brought it over. Both Happy and Bull pulled out some cash, placing it on the table. Enough to cover the bill and a very generous tip. Happy was thankful he had allowed Marcy to check in on Addison, he wasn't sure how he would have handled the situation.

Happy watched as Bull led Addison out the door and over to the bikes. He was about to follow them out the door when he felt a strong yet small hand land on his arm. Turning, he met Marcy's eyes.

"She's a soft one, that girl." Marcy said in a firm and quite voice. "I'm not sure what she's doing with you two, but I'm smart enough to know she means something to the club. Take care of her, you push her to talk about what's bothering her, she'll close up." Marcy advised.

"Ain't going to push her," Happy said as he pulled out his yellow night-riding glasses.

With a nod, Marcy released her hold on him. "It was good to see you again Happy," she said with a smile.

END chapter 25.2

So the secret is out! How are Bull and Happy going to handle the 'problem'? Oh and Marcy seems to know how to handle Happy….ummm… something to think about!

As always I love reading any feedback you are willing to give. Leave a review or PM!


	28. Chapter 26

**Author's Notes:** First off I would like to apologize for taking so long to post this new chapter. As some of you know I moved…and moved again. My father had also been fighting stage four cancer, and I have been helping where I can with family.

Having that said, I am looking for a co-writer who is willing to help me finish this project. I have the story line and plot all thought up, I just need help getting it written. If you are interested please contact me and let me know. If you enjoy writing and are up for the challenge please contact me.

As always thank you to my beta that has been helping me work out the wrinkles.

Also a very special thank you to all you who have been reading, reviewing and adding this story to your alert list. It means a lot to me to know that you all truly enjoy this story. I hope you enjoy this new chapter.

_**Last time…**_

_The squeaking of a door opening drew both their attention to the bathroom. All the anger and frustration drained away. Happy's shoulders relaxed as he caught sight of Addison walking out of the restroom with her head down. It wasn't hard to miss the short steps she took, her arms wrapped around her midsection. She was in pain, anyone could see it. _

_Bull removed himself from the table to allow Addison to slide back into her seat. She kept her head down and didn't say a word. Both Happy and Bull sipped their coffee while she tried to eat a bit more of her food, which was now cold. After a few minutes, Bull and Happy shared a knowing look. With a nod Happy turned to find Marcy. It was time to pay their bill and find a place to rest._

"_Check," Happy said in a strong voice, getting the waitress's attention. _

_It wasn't long before Marcy had the check ready and brought it over. Both Happy and Bull pulled out some cash, placing it on the table. Enough to cover the bill and a very generous tip. Happy was thankful he had allowed Marcy to check in on Addison, he wasn't sure how he would have handled the situation. _

_Happy watched as Bull led Addison out the door and over to the bikes. He was about to follow them out the door when he felt a strong yet small hand land on his arm. Turning, he met Marcy's eyes._

"_She's a soft one, that girl." Marcy said in a firm and quite voice. "I'm not sure what she's doing with you two, but I'm smart enough to know she means something to the club. Take care of her, you push her to talk about what's bothering her, she'll close up." Marcy advised. _

"_Ain't going to push her," Happy said as he pulled out his yellow night-riding glasses. _

_With a nod, Marcy released her hold on him. "It was good to see you again Happy," she said with a smile._

**Born to Die**

**Chapter 26**

Afraid to ask their destination, Addison held onto Bull as he pulled out of the parking space. His bike rumbled loudly, breaking the peaceful silence of the night. The horsepower vibrated the seat, and Addison fought to ignore the pain flaring in her midsection, spreading to her lower back. What little the pain meds had dulled, the Harley revoked in only a few seconds.

Resting her forehead on his broad shoulders, she hoped and prayed they would be stopping soon. As much as she wanted to put on a strong face and fight through the pain, the cramps weren't lessening in their intensity. She didn't want to voice her desire to stop, so she held on and focused on her breathing.

Breathing in, she noted the strong sent of weathered leather, fuel and a strong manly musk that she found clung to all the Sons. It was a mixture of beer and whiskey, tobacco smoke and oil, and cheep perfume. There was also a strong earthly scent, no doubt from all their time on the road expose to the elements. Without even trying, her mind conjured thoughts of her father and long rides.

Exhaling slowly, she pushed all thoughts of her father from her mind. Thinking of him pulled at her, bringing with them thoughts of Clay and the mother she never knew. It was still far too early to start thinking about her uncle, and she could only deal with one pain at the moment. There was nothing she could do about the death of her mother or father. Clay was still fighting for his life, and there was nothing her worrying would do to help him. That left her with her period and the painful cramps that were flaring up.

Each moment felt like an eternity, she couldn't help but count the duration between the clenching spasms. There was no consistency, so there was no way for her to predict and prepare for them.

Hearing Bull shift gears down, Addison couldn't help but turn her head. Another brightly lit parking lot met her gaze. The tires weren't crunching over gravel, but smooth pavement. Pulling herself up to look over his shoulder, Addison saw a small road side complex. A sizable gas station with an attached auto shop sat in the center, a seemingly well kept motel sat off to the right and another dinner was on the left.

Bull pulled up the wide sidewalk and parked ride along the brick wall of the gas station. He handled his bike expertly like only a Son could. Once he turned it off and tugged his helmet off, he turned around to her with a soft smile.

"Let's get you some things and then we'll call it a night." Bull said with a light smile. Other than the purse and sun glasses Bella had handed her in the hospital bathroom, she had nothing.

Not hearing Happy's bike park alongside them , Addison following the sound of his engine to see the dark and silent Son parking at the motel. Relieved that she would have time to collect herself and properly deal with her _issue_, Addison pulled herself off the bike and followed Bull inside. Taking small steps, she fought off the sickening feeling in her gut. She was raw and sore, and the pain in her lower back was growing. Heat rushed over her body followed quickly by a cold chill, another wave of cramps was on its way. Resting her hand on the cool brick outside wall, Addison pushed the pain away as best she could. She just needed another fifteen minutes of strength, than she could let it all melt away in a warm bath. Or so she hoped.

Standing tall, Addison focused on moving one foot in front of the other. _'Almost there,'_ she thought to herself. _'Just a little while longer.' _

Once inside the station, the bright lights flooded her vision. Bull had been waiting for her, holding the door open for her. She knew he had seen her moment of weakness, and prayed that he didn't ask if she was alright. She wasn't about to lie to him, however she wasn't sure what she would tell him either.

"Here," Bull said as he handed her a wad of folded cash. "Get what you need, but remember we'll be on the road most the time." Taking the offered money, she didn't unfold it to count how much she had been given. The large number on the bill was more than enough for what she had in mind of getting. There would be change left over and she would return what she didn't use. With a thankful smile, she nodded and looked around. The station was large inside and held many aisles of items and products those traveling might be in need of.

Without asking what he would be doing while she shopped, she watched as he headed over to the counter and asked for a pack of cigarettes from the cashier. Not wanting to waste time, Addison stuffed the money in her back pocket and walked down the first aisle, glad that the cramps had eased for the time being.

Seeing a rack that held a selection of rugged looking backpacks, she chose one that would work well to hold her stuff while she was on the road. It wasn't anything special, black with comfort shoulder straps and a chest clip to keep the straps from sliding off. It reminded her of a hikers pack. Perfect for her while on the open road with the Sons, and it wouldn't take away room from their saddle bags.

Slinging it over her shoulder, Addison turned down the next aisle. It held nothing but snacks and junk food. As much as the chocolate candy was calling to her, she knew not to waste her money…or Bull's money. She would have to go without that small comfort for the time being. Another aisle held personal care items, just what she needed. Picking out small travel size toothpaste, she looked over the limited tooth brush selection. It was either between a My Little Ponies pink and purple brush or burnt orange. Grabbing the orange, she tossed it inside her pack along with the toothpaste. Soap was next, keeping it simple and picking a generic vanilla and aloe. Shampoo and conditioner followed, both vanilla. No need to be mixing too many scent while she was with Happy and Bull, she didn't want to upset their noses while she rode with them.

A few more steps down the aisle and she found what she was really in need of, tampons, pads, and liners. Looking up and over the shelf to locate Bull, she saw that he was over at the coolers, looking at beer. Glancing back down she grabbed what she needed, two boxes of tampons and a pack of liners. She wasn't about to put herself into an embarrassing situation again, not while with the Sons.

Deodorant, a razor, and some hair pins found themselves tossed inside her pack as well. There was still plenty of room left inside , and Addison couldn't think of anything else she needed right at this time. Once she was inside the room, she would add the items Bella had packed in the purse, and then get rid of it. There was no need to haul around a purse; it would just take up room.

"Welcome in sir, let me know if you need any help." The cashier called out from behind the counter, causing Addison to look up and see Happy walk in. Standing at the door, she could see him looking around, no doubt counting all the warm bodies and taking note of all the doors. Their eyes met over the shelves and he nodded to her before heading over to Bull, who was looking at some magazines now. The exchange was brief and fleeting, and yet a new wave of warmth rushed over her body.

Deciding to pay for her items while the guys where farther away from the counter, she headed to the front of the station, adding a small bottle of pain killer to her purchase.

S.O.A.

Happy followed Bull down the dark highway. Not many cars were traveling down the road at that time of night and it gave him the time to look ahead and see Addison as she clung behind Bull. He could tell by her body language that she was in pain, and it assured him that they had made the right decision to stop for the night.

It was unspoken that Bull would take Addison to get what she needed from the station, while he checked into the motel. Pulling his bike to the front office, Happy looked over to see Addison lean against the wall, just shy of the door. The girl was tough. He couldn't even count the number of times bitches at the clubhouses would whine and complain about 'Aunt Flo', hopping to gain some sympathy from someone with a patch. He hated the games they played; they wasted time and distracted his brothers from more important issues. _'That's why I don't have a bitch or Old Lady,'_ he thought with a grunt. In all his years, he had yet to find the woman who understood his life and loyalties, and didn't try and play mind games in hopes to control him.

Without wanting to waste more time, Happy dismounted and headed for the motel office. It was nicer compared to most the Sons stayed at, the front was clean and well kept. No litter or graffiti marred the grounds. It was well lit, and he could see a small outdoor sitting area off to the side.

Opening the door, he heard the overhead bell chime, alerting the keeper.

"Single," the man asked from behind the counter. He was an older man, white hair that could use a trim and scruffy beard. The shirt he worn was once white, but now yellowed due to age, and grime. Beer belly hung over his jeans, and glasses rested on the bridge of his nose.

Closing the distance, Happy rested a tattooed arm on the counter. His eyes swept behind the counter and noted the security camera and computer. "No," Happy said looking the keeper in the eye. "Need two rooms, one with two singles. Connecting door."

The keeper made a grunt of understand the request and looked in the computer for the available rooms. "Sure, the connecting door isn't a problem," he said. While the man behind the counter continued to look down at the computer, Happy pulled out his money clip and slipped out some bills.

"Just for the night?" The keeper asked as he typed away on the computer as he looked through his glasses that slid down his nose.

"Yeah," Happy replied, his voice rough.

"Name?"

Without answering Happy slid the money across the counter and made sure to look the other man right in the eye. There was a moment of silence between both men. Happy could see the hard look of understanding in the other man's eyes and knew he understood perfectly. The keep shifted from his right food to lean on his left side, before reaching over to counter and took the money. Turning around with ease he retrieved two keys. Laying them down on the counter he slid them over to Happy.

"Rooms 13 and 14, end of the drive at the back." The keep said with a nod. "Check out is at ten am."

With a nod, Happy took the keys and turned to leave, pushing himself though the door. Pocketing the keys, he headed to the gas station. Rubbing his hand over his face, he couldn't help the tired feeling that was working its way over his body. Opening the station's glass door, he headed in and looked around. Spotting Addison was easy, she was the only woman in the whole place as far as he could see. She was in the middle of an aisle and Happy could tell she was still looking for what she needed. Choosing to give her some room, he pulled his gaze away and looked for his partner.

Walking down where the racks of maps, books and magazines were, Happy found Bull shifting through a Harley auto parts magazine.

"Got the room?" Bull asked without looking up.

"Two," Happy confirmed. At this, Bull looked up and met Happy's eyes. With a smile and a nod Bull understood, and he was glad for Addison sake. The poor girl was going to be stuck with them for who knows how long, but that didn't mean they would make her suffer. She was family to the Sons, and important to Clay and Jax. They would put her up at the Hilton if it wouldn't put her life in danger.

Pulling his pack of cigarettes out to check how many he had left, Happy asked about Addison. "She getting everything?"

"Yeah," Bull replied as he set his reading material back. "Gave her some cash and told her to get what she needed." It was clear that Bull was giving her room, Happy would have done the same thing. They kept her in sight and there was no danger at the moment. They could afford to give her some room, just for the moment.

Bull nodded up with his head, looking over Happy's shoulder. "Looks like she is checking out now," Bull said.

Turning, Happy saw Addison at the counter, talking with the cashier and keeping her head down. "Go wait for her outside," Happy told Bull as he dug into his pocket to retrieve the keys. "Room 13 and 14," he said handing them over. "I'll meet up with you."

Bull took the keys with a nod and headed out the door. Happy watched as Addison's form stiffened as Bull walked behind her, there was no doubt that she didn't want anyone else to see what she had to buy.

Keeping his ears open to Addison at the counter, Happy found a rack of glasses and looked at the selection. While Happy trusted Addison to get her personal items, there were a few things that she would need while on the road. Yellow or clear night glass would keep her eyes from drying out, and add a level of comfort.

"Thank you, come see us again." Happy heard he cashier say. Looking up he saw Addison taking her bags and headed to the door. He made eye contact with Bull outside the window, letting him know he wouldn't be long. Turning back to the rack in front of him he focused on what he needed to get.

Finding a light rose colored tinted lens with a coal grey frame, he pulled it off the rack and checked the make. They looked like they would hold up, so he held onto them. Moving on, he soon found a small display of bandannas. Pulling a solid black and a black with cross bones, he walked up to the counter to lay them down

"Hold these," Happy said as he freed his hands and headed over to another section. The selection wasn't large, but he was sure he would find what he was looking for. Pushing the hangers aside, looking at each size, Happy stopped and pulled out a hooded sweater to look at it. Dark grey, it wouldn't stand out or draw attention. It was a thick blend and would wear well over the years, giving warmth and some more protection from the elements. It wasn't the best, but it would do for now. Checking the size, Happy choose one that would be lose and comfortable. He would have to call one of the club houses and look into getting her a real bikers jacket, one that would protect her should something happen and they would have to lay down their rides.

The mere thought angered him, but he knew it would be stupid to not think it a possibility. The helmet would protect her head, but even the hoodie in his arms would not preserve her tender skin. It would shred right off her slim body should it meet the pavement.

Knowing there was nothing more he could do at the moment to provide protection for her, he headed back to the counter, stopping when something at the end of an aisle caught his eye. Reaching out he grabbed one of the packages.

"Will this be all for you?" The cashier asked as she started to scan the bar codes on the items. After pointing out what brand of cigarettes he wanted, Happy nodded that he had everything he wanted. Handing over the money to pay his bill, he added the coined change into a donation box for some charity trying to help children with cancer.

Grabbing the plastic bag with his items, he pulled out his smokes and put them in his pocket. Walking back to the motel, he saw Bull's bike still parked by the station wall. He figured Bull would come back for it once he returned to look after Addison.

Making his way back to his own bike where he had left it by the front office, Happy slid the plastic bag onto the handles and then kicked the stand up. Not wanting to disrupt the silence of the night, he pushed his ride to in the direction of the rooms. Once at the end of the drive, he parked and grabbed what he needed. Plastic bag, and his saddle bags in hand, he headed to the rooms.

Happy rapped his knuckles on the door of room 13. Seeing the side curtain move, he knew Bull had checked to see who was at the door before making his way over to open it. Hearing the chain lock slide, Happy gave Bull a mental approval for keeping up guard while he was out. They couldn't afford to get relaxed, no matter how late or tired they were.

Walking in, cool air hit Happy's face, along with the scent of a clean room. Looking around, he saw that it was a double single room. Both beds had a light grayish blue comforter with clean crisp sheets. A dark wooden end table sat between them with two lamps. Setting his load down on a table that sat by the window, he continued his appraisal. Over all the room was fresh and modern, the carpet looked clean and he couldn't spot any stains on it.

Noting the door that sat open along the side wall, he walked in and found an identical room, with two matching beds. The bed closest to the bathroom held a purse that had toppled over.

"Told her to go ahead and take a bath, shower, or whatever." Bull said as he grabbed his keys and headed to the door. "I'll be back," he added and walked out of the door. There was no need to say where he was going.

Following him to the door, Happy closed and locked it. Looking to the plastic bag, he pulled the boxed item out and pushed it into his saddle bag, pulling out a clean, worn grey shirt with 'SAMCRO' printed in white. Picking up the other items, from the bag, he made his way to the other room, tossing the things on the bed next to the purse.

Hearing the sound of running water, Happy left the room to give Addison some privacy. Heading back to the other room, he sat down and waited for Bull to return. The boxed item hidden in his saddle bag on his mind. It wasn't cheep and it would serve a better role tomorrow, so it could wait.

S.O.A

Waking up the next morning, Addison had to fight the urge to moan in pain. She felt heavy, and her lower back was on fire. Sitting up with care, she reached over and took the bottle of pain killers she had set beside her the night before. Swallowing them dry, she took a deep breath to gather herself before she tried to get up.

Even with the pain of cramps, she had to admit that last night she had gotten more rest than she thought she would. The soak in the hot bath had eased her sore body, and the clean feeling relaxed her. The mattress had been the perfect comfort, and with the air conditioner on she had been able to cuddle within the bedding. The soft worn shirt she wore also added to her comfort. She knew it had come from either Bull or Happy, and she was thankful for the act.

Looking over to the other bed, where she had placed her bag, the purse and the other items that had shown up with the grey shirt after her bath, she reached up to pull back the covers. She could tell it was still early, but the light from the other side of the curtains told her that it was the start of a new day.

Going to the bathroom, Addison quickly relieved herself and prepared for the day ahead of her. Slipping the jeans she wore the day before back on, she wondered when she would be able to stop and get another pair of clothing. Deciding to leave the larger grey shirt on, it was more comfortable than what she had worn the day before, she left the bathroom to find Happy in the door way of the connecting door.

"You good?" Happy asked, his voice rough from sleep.

"Yeah," Addison said with a nod. She felt his deep eyes on her for a moment before she moved to the bed loaded with items. "Thank you," she said as she looked over the sweatshirt, glasses and bandannas. "Oh," She said recalling the change she was given after her purchase, "this is Bull's," she said handing the money over.

"Keep it," he said as he pushed himself off the door frame and headed back into the room.

Addison took the time to pack up her bag, and took the remaining items out of the purse and moved them over. Taking one of the bandannas and hair ties, she headed back to the mirror to pull her hair back. Reaching around she ran her fingers through her hair and then divided it to be braided. Tying off the end, she then took the bandanna and rolled it so she could wrap it around her head, to keep her hair from flying into her face while on the road. The black of the cloth was a stark difference to her cream skin, but everything looked good. It moved her to think that Happy had bought her a few things to help her while on the road. She knew this whole situation wasn't ideal, but it was nice to know that even though they were there to protect her, they also cared about her comfort to a degree. She knew not to push her luck, and was happy to take what they gave.

"We'll head out in five," Happy's voice called out behind her. Looking up and away from her reflection, she saw Happy standing within the room, something in his hands. "Come here," he said, as he started to open whatever he was holding.

Making her way over to him, she tried to get a look at what he was holding, but his large hands were in the way.

"Turn around, lift up the back of your shirt." He said. There was no harsh tone in his command, but that was what it was, a command.

Knowing that he wouldn't answer her question of why, and knowing that he wouldn't hurt her, she did as he said. A flutter filled her stomach as she reached back to lift her shirt, exposing her skin to him. She didn't lift to high enough to show her bra strap, but it still made her blush.

The sound of a plastic wrapper and then the scent of menthol hit her nose. She knew right away what he had, and what he was going to put on her. The tingling cooling sensation of the patch hit her skin and sent her nerves on edge. The feeling of his warm fingers pressing it firmly onto her back and new warmth flooded her system.

S.O.A

Happy opened the Icy Hot patch and tried to keep his focus on the task at hand, but he found it hard. The sight of her in his grey shirt was much more appealing than it should have been. It looked good on her, and part of him wanted it to stay there. The other part of him was yelling at him to take it off. He wasn't sure if that side of him wanted to see what she hid under the soft fabric, or if he just wanted his shirt back.

Clenching his jaw to keep from saying anything, he pressed the patch onto her skin. Something deep inside him found satisfaction as she shivered at his touch. However slight a touch it was, her creamy white skin seared his fingers. He knew it would be a while before the burn would ease.

"We'll grab something to eat then head out, put the sweater on." He said, his voice sounding lower, even to him. Leaving, Happy headed back to the other room, tossing the wrapper in the trash and then running his hands over his face.

'_Shit,'_ he thought. _'I need to get laid.'_

**END of chapter 26**

As always I would love to hear what you all thought on the new chapter! Like I said, things between Addison and Happy will be moving along more now. Hope you all enjoyed! Thank you for reading!


End file.
